Twisting Kismet
by hellointernet
Summary: Because after being purposely led into the path of a three ton truck your arch-enemy, getting hit and ending up in a coma for about a month, it's perfectly acceptable to go on a date with said arch-enemy.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer._

* * *

><p>"Ahaha, Shizu-chan's so slow!" Izaya laughed as he twirled, jumping onto a sign board to avoid an incoming signpost.<p>

"Flea! I'm gonna catch you and kill you!" Shizuo roared as he ripped off another signpost.

Izaya smirked. He had it timed perfectly. Today would be the day. Shizu-chan would be his. Izaya turned right, dodging another street sign from Shizuo.

"Shizuo Heiwajima. You'll be mine now," Izaya whispered to himself. "Oi, Shizu-chan! You're awfully slow today! You'll never catch me with that speed."

"Shut the hell up, flea! I'll kill you!" Shizuo ran faster, unaware of the large three ton mailing truck that was speeding towards him.

"I'm here, Shizu-chan! I'm waiting!" Izaya shouted.

"IZAYA! Yo-" Shizuo started but was cut off by the truck slamming into him. There was a crunch and the sound of bones breaking. Shizuo fell to the ground, skidding away a few feet. The driver slammed the brake and got out, surveying the scene of the blonde bleeding on the street. He turned around and saw the crushed front of the truck.

Izaya watched all of it from a safe distance, He smiled. Maybe he should take a picture of Shizu-chan bleeding so helplessly like this. He walked towards the blonde.

People were starting to gather around Shizuo. Oh, Shizu-chan, always had to be at the center of attention. There were whispers.

"Is he dead? Look at the truck!"

"Who is he?"

"Isn't that Shizuo Hewajima?"

"The guy who runs around destroying the city?"

"Oh my god, it's him? You think he'll be killed this easily?"

Izaya pushed through the crowd, peering over to see Shizuo. Was he really dead? It _was _a three ton truck but then this was _Shizuo_, the fortissimo of Ikebukuro. Shizuo wasn't moving. Yes, his plan would finally be complete. He can have all he wanted now. Izaya internally smiled.

Shizuo groaned and twitched. Izaya frowned. Someone started calling the ambulance. Izaya looked around, wondering to stay or leave. If an ambulance came, Celty would be alerted. They would all think he killed Shizuo. Well, that _was_ his plan but it obviously changed.

Stupid protozoan, messing up everything, from grocery shopping to bartending. He somehow managed to mess up dying and thus ruining Izaya's plans. Seriously, how do you mess up dying? Especially when you're _hit_ by a freaking _three ton truck_ at high speed.

Izaya had everything planned out. He would get his beloved Shizu-chan, dead or alive. Since Shizu-chan was so determined to kill him when he was alive, Izaya would just have him dead. After making sure the blonde was dead, he would buy one of those ice coffins that preserve the body and Shizu-chan can stay prettily frozen in the thing. He had money, information, humans and everything he wanted. …just not Shizu-chan.

After stuffing the protozoan in the coffin, he would have Shizu-chan by his side forever, without the brute trying to kill him. Sure, it might be boring to not have Shizu-chan talk back but at least the blonde would be a great listener, which was a great change. Plus Shizu- chan was _Shizu-chan_. Izaya would find something interesting about him, even if he was dead.

Someday, Shizu-chan will be his, Izaya internally vowed as he walked away from the scene.

* * *

><p><em>What do you think?<em>

_ They're hard characters to write because one's a manipulative bastard with a god complex and the other's filled with hormonal rage and superhuman strength. Plus, I've really only watched about one season (but read a lot of fanfictions) before I started watching One Piece. So yeah, I hope I did a good job of capturing them._

_Not quite sure what I'm going with this but it's a start. _


	2. Chapter 2

A few days later, Izaya showed up at the hospital. It wasn't hard to find the room number since _everyone_ was still talking about the incident and where Shizuo currently was. He ran into Celty as she came out of the room.

Celty paused as she saw Izaya with … flower? She internally frowned and moved to block the informant as he stepped towards the room. She wasn't sure of what to do as she had a important delivery due in the next hour and _Izaya _showing up to see Shizuo. For what, though. Killing him?

"What are you doing here?" the text read.

Izaya smiled elusively and responded. "Can't a guy come to visit a hospital visit? Look! I even brought flowers and everything." Izaya waved his single orange lily

Celty considered her options. Stay here and make sure Izaya doesn't kill her friend and miss the important delivery (which was _really _important) or trust Izaya not to kill the blonde while he was in coma.

"…Killing someone while they're in coma is a low blow, Izaya-san." Though Izaya Orihara was all about playing dirty.

"Ahahaha. I'm not here to kill the brute, though it is tempting. I would just like to see him, especially when he's all injured." Izaya tried to push past the woman.

"No, wait. I'll text Shinra over and he can stand guard while you make your 'visit'. You're not going in there alone."

Izaya sighed. "Don't you have a _very _important delivery to make?"

What? How did he know that? Though knowing the dark-haired man, he probably calculated it before he visited.

"Yes…"

"Don't worry your pretty little helmet over this. It's just a _friendly _visit," Izaya successfully force himself into the room before turning to lock the door.

Celty jumped at the click and banged on the door. "What are you doing." She showed her phone through the door window.

"Don't worry. Shizu-chan will still be alive." Izaya typed on his phone before turning it to Celty's direction. He snapped the phone shut and pulled down the curtain before the dullahan could reply.

"Hello, Shizu-chan," Izaya smirked.

* * *

><p><em>So another short chapter. I'll try to make longer chapters. <em>

_Apparently, orange lily means hatred in flower language. I'm assuming it's true as I searched it up on a website. I don't study flower language (though I do study Mandarin). _

_I was so happy to see that people read it! I'm hoping I get Celty right in this but maybe not as she probably wouldn't leave them alone. Important deliveries are very convenient. Also, I'm worried that Izaya might be too twisted..._

_Anyway, tell me what you think! _


	3. Chapter 3

Celty turned, contemplating her options. 'Come over to the hospital. Izaya's over here and I don't know what he'll do,' she texted Shinra.

The reply was immediate. 'Celty! Ah, so sorry but can't. I'm in the middle of an operation right now. AH! I got blood on the phone cover that you got me. I'll be over as soon as I can. Love, Shinra.'

Celty frowned. Really, if he was operating, he shouldn't even text. Just a 'busy' would've suffice. And the man has to get his priorities straight. Worrying about blood on a cover is the least important thing seeing as he was stitching some guy up.

Celty sighed and thought. Maybe some other friend or acquaintance of Shizuo? Hopefully, they'll be able to stop Izaya from committing murder… if he hadn't already. She quickly texted Kadota before leaving. She was sure Shizuo would survive for an hour or two. Even if it was Izaya. Or not. There was really no telling with the two of them.

When Celty came back to the hospital after the deliveries, she found not Kadota but Shinra sitting in front, fiddling with his lab coat.

'Where's Kadota?'

"Ah, Celty, my love! I'm so glad you're here! It was dreadfully boring being on Shizuo guard duty!" Shinra cried in delight, attempting to hug Celty. He was quickly pushed back.

'Shinra…"

"Oh, Kadota left with the otakus after the girl made too much noise. The hospital threatened to kick them out. Luckily, I was here!" Shinra grinned and spread his arms to emphasize it.

'Where's Izaya?'

"Still in the room."

'WHAT? Why haven't you gone in then?' Celty was furious. Really, Shinra was useless in situations like this.

Shinra pouted. "It was locked." He brightened up. "Besides, I thought we shouldn't disturb them. Privacy and all, you know."

Celty sighed. Shinra was the last one who knew anything about privacy.

"It's really interesting, you know. The dynamics between those two…" The underground doctor rambled on.

Celty decided she had enough. Curling her shadows, she got down to pick the lock… Just as Izaya turned the knob and opened.

The informant's expression was of mild surprise, changing quickly to a smirk. "Picking locks isn't something a fairy should be doing, Celty."

"Izaya!" Shinra cried somewhere behind them.

'What did you do?' Celty demanded.

Izaya smirked even more. "Nothing. It's been a delightful hospital visit but I should get going before Namie tries to put poison in my tea."

Celty tried to protest but her typing wasn't quick enough.

The informant left quickly, ignoring Shinra's shouts of … whatever he was saying and Celty's obvious confusion and doubt.

When Celty stepped inside, she was surprised to see a used chair and an almost empty box of sushi in the bin, containing of a few of the sweet egg roll sushi. The orange lily was placed in a glass of water. There was nothing of evidence that shows that Izaya harmed Shizuo. Not even a nick from the switchblade.

* * *

><p><em>Okay, so maybe this should've gone with chapter 2, but then I had this as chapter 3 so yeah. Again, short, I know. The next chapter will be longer (hopefully). <em>

_I like writing Shinra the best, though I'm not sure if he's i character. I think so but maybe he's too... cheerful or something. _

_And last of all, I forgot to mention in last chapter. I mean that I watched/read the first arc, the Dollars one. I haven't really gotten further than that. I just wanted to clear it since I said it was first season but then someone told me that there was only one season (and I didn't want to look like I was trying to excuse myself from the OOC -ness (or is it OCC? 'Cause I've always read it in my mind as OCC... but the acronym doesn't really match up...)). _

_I hope you enjoy this one!_

_Please tell me what you think. Always appreciate feedback. _


	4. Chapter 4

Izaya stepped into the room, as he had done for the past 2 weeks. In his hands was a fresh flower to add to the collection on the bedside table. He kept his visiting times irregular. A pattern was never good and he could be easily caught off guard. Besides, it was fun to annoy Namie and Shizu-chan wouldn't like it.

Speaking of the protozoan, the bastard was still asleep, chest rising and falling with each breath, face unnaturally calm. Izaya wanted to disturb it. He settled for talking. His voice usually irritates Shizu-chan anyway.

"I bought sushi today," Izaya says after a pause. He smirks. "Of course, I bought myself ootoro, but there are a few sweet egg rolls for you. Less than mine though." He doesn't know why he bothers buying Shizu-chan's share, though in small shares. The blond gets all his nutrients from the bag on the IV, seeing as he can't be awake to eat. Stupid blond.

The informant settles in the plastic chair. He takes a bite of his sushi, leaving the sweet egg ones untouched. He swallows before he speaks because unlike _someone_, he has manners.

"The plastic chairs here are hard," he complains. "I want my cushy, spinning one. I love that chair. Do you like spinning chairs, Shizu-chan?" Izaya tilts his head, as if hearing his response.

"Probably not. You'll be all 'Oh, this makes me dizzy. Rarrr!' and throw it out of the window." Izaya chuckled. "That's definitely what you'll do."

The raven-haired, took another bite, observing the even breathing pattern that said that Shizuo hasn't heard him.

"It's quite too bad that they covered you up with bandages. It covers the lovely mark you I made on you," Izaya smirked. He leaned forward, his hand ghosting over the scar on Shizuo's chest.

"I quite liked it. It's _my_ mark, after all." Pause. Izaya tilted his head. "How did it feel when you got slashed, Shizu-chan?" He practically leered at the blond, as if waiting for a response.

"Ah, Shizu-chan's so boring like this. Maybe I should've rethought my plan first." He leaned into the seat and turned to the window. "But I do wonder how Shizu-chan would look like dead."

A brief silence took over the room. Izaya closed his eyes, as if imaging the scene. "Shizu-chan should be angry when you die. I don't like this expression. You should have a big scowl on your face."

Izaya opened his eyes, frowning. "This is not Shizu-chan's look because Shizu-chan can't be peaceful! Shizu-chan's a monster. That's why you can't be peaceful! Ahaha!" he says demandingly, almost like a child.

The raven haired tips his chair back, balancing precariously on the back legs. "Maybe I can change you into a robot. Have my own robot butler. The bartender is quite like a butler outfit. Suits you nicely, too. And I won't need that witch anymore." Pause. "Well, maybe I'll keep her too. She can clean up after the messes."

Clack! The chair came down, the sound slicing through the silence. "Either way, I'll just change you to a flesh and blood robot. Then I can torture you all I want and make you bleed. Would you like that, Shizu-chan?" The russet eyes gleamed at the unconscious man.

"As a favor, I'll even program you so that you can be your old self, once in a while. Might not get all your traits since Shizu-chan's such a protozoan. If I get bored, I'll let you loose in Ikebukuro and we can have a dog and cat chase. I know how much you love ripping signs up." Izaya smiled at his fantasy.

"Well, well. Look at the time! It's time I left or else Namie might try to kill me for coming back late. It really isn't my fault. No one asked her to stay," Izaya sneered. He ate the last bit of otooro, dumped the rest in the trash and stood up, ready to leave. Glancing at Shizuo, he paused.

Very slowly, he leaned over Shizuo, his lips barely a centimeter from the other's.

"Hah! Just kidding! I wouldn't kiss you, _monster_." Shizuo made no reply, still maintaining the fair breathing pattern, immune to the torture (the blond would think so) he was almost subjected to.

The informant leaned back, hands stuffed in his fur trimmed jacket. Quick as lightning, he leaned forward and briefly pressed his lips to the dry ones below. "Just kidding about kidding! I hope I didn't steal your first kiss, Shizu-chan! Though, who would date a brute like _you_?"

Aside from himself, but Izaya didn't mention it. "Good night, Shizu-chan!" the man cheerfully called out, already halfway to the door.

* * *

><p><em>So maybe not as long as people and I hoped. At least not over 1000 words. And Izaya turned out a little... mood swing-y? I don't know. I kind of liked how the kiss turned out. Maybe the real Izaya would do it like this, maybe he won't. <em>

_Anyway (you know, it really ticks me off that 'anyways' isn't a word. I've always liked writing/saying it), feedback is appreciated. _


	5. Chapter 5

'This is weird,' Celty took off her helmet and showed her screen to the doctor.

"What is, my love? Is it the kids show? Do not worry! I'm here to explain it to you, my darling!" Shinra dramatically cried.

'No. Not the show, though why are you watching it?' It was a mystery why a surgeon was watching a kids show. About a cat, too. 'I meant Izaya. He's been visiting Shizuo for what? 2 weeks? And he's done nothing!'

"This is a very interesting show. Look at how cute the cat is! Look! It's crying, now. Oh wait. It's smiling! Can cats smile?" Shinra ignored the important issue.

'Shinra!'

"Yes, honey? What can I do for you?"

'Answer the question!'

"You haven't asked one though, babycakes," Shinra said, confusedly. Like he didn't know. He must've noticed the whole Izaya-Shizuo situation!

'Do you know what's up with Izaya?... And 'babycakes' was the worst one yet,' Celty patiently typed.

"Would you prefer fairycakes?" Shinra asked cheekily. Celty could just feel an imaginary eye tick coming. "But what's wrong with Izaya? He seems fine."

'Visiting Shizuo at the hospital for 2 weeks and not doing anything to maim him is not Izaya being fine!' the fairy would've snapped if she could talk.

Shinra's cryptic reply was, "Izaya doesn't have to maim Shizuo every time, you know. Maybe he's finally accepted his feelings."

The dullahan felt like screaming. 'What feelings?'

Shinra's eyes practically lit up to stars. Celty knew this look. It meant that a long winded explanation about things that normal people couldn't understand was coming. She internally groaned.

"Don't you see? Izaya's and Shizuo's fighting is because of sexual tension!"

Okay, Shinra lost her there. Sexual what? Between Izaya and Shizuo? Yeah, right. The only tension between them is killing tension. One of these days, they were going to kill each other. Celty could feel a headache coming. (Can headless people/fairies get headaches?)

Shinra obliviously rambled on. "And that's why they keep attacking each other. You know, physical contact! It's something that couples must have! And why do you think Izaya comes to Ikebukuro so much? Obviously not just for the Russian Sushi."

Celty was thoroughly confused. Shinra was talking circles around her. What does Russian Sushi have to do with this? Simon?

"They're like magnets, you know? Except they're both poles at the same time! They repel and attract each other at the same time! And of course, since two poles cannot exist at the same time, it's spontaneous combustion! That's why they're so explosive!"

He took a deep breath before continuing. "Of course, that's _my_ theory. Maybe two poles can exist at the same time. Who knows? Izaya and Shizuo could probably prove it. Those two defy the laws of physics."

Celty had to shut him up before he went on any further. 'I don't think that's it. And Izaya and Shizuo are not magnet poles and will not spontaneously combust.'

Shinra had the gall to look offended. _'I think Izaya has something planned. He's observing Shizuo for something, but 'what' is the question.'_ Celty contemplated.

"Ack! How could the love of my life not believe me?! They're obviously a couple behind closed doors! My life is over! Celty thinks I've lied!" Shinra was a drama queen. He was rocking himself on the couch, T.V. show abandoned in favor of muttering nonsense in hopes of convincing himself. Why did she fall in love this man again?

Ah, well, as long as Shizuo was safe and there was no trouble (yet), it was fine. The matter could wait, she supposed. Shinra was obviously no help. Maybe Simon would know? Or Kadota?

Celty sighed and shook her head (er, her smoke?) to clear the thoughts and went into the shower. Shinra better not peek this time.

* * *

><p><em>A chapter about Celty and Shinra and their views on the pair. I hope real Celty would do something like this and not obsessively worry over the issue like a good friend. <em>

_If anyone is interested, Shinra's watching 'Chi's Sweet Home'. At least that's what I think it's called. It was supposed to be Hello Kitty but as I was describing, it changed into that. It's always fun to write Shinra. _


	6. Chapter 6

"Did you hear? Apparently Shizuo Heiwajima finally woke up!"

"Amazing, isn't it? He woke up and most of his bones were healed!"

"Wow. That's fast recovery, but then it's Shizuo Heiwajima. I wouldn't be surprised if he turned out to be a supernatural monster like the headless rider of Ikebukuro."

Izaya smiled at that. 'See, Shizu-chan? Everyone sees you as a monster.' He stretched his arms, reaching for the sky. 'Guess that's no more hospital visits for me. Good riddance, the smell was horrible. The things I do for you, Shizu-chan.'

The informant happily skipped away, intent on watching humans from his window above.

* * *

><p>Shizuo looked around, noting the half-wilted vibrant flowers in the glass on the bedside table. It was an odd bouquet though the only flower the blond recognized was the orange lilies.<p>

He turned his head, wincing at the crick in his neck. His eyes focused on the crowd cramping in the white room. There was… Celty, Kadota and the tag-a-longs (what were their names, again? Akira and Walking? Something like that... thinking made his head hurt), Tom and Kasuka (when did he get back from his shooting? How long had he been sleeping?). He made a move to sit up and Tom stepped forward to help him.

What were these annoying things stuck in him? And why was he wearing a dress? And come to think of it, where was he? His head was wrapped with white bandages and there was a stinging pain on his right when he moved. Some sort of burn?

He vaguely remembered chasing the stupid flea (who showed his face in Ikebukuro _again_), then there was pain; a hell lot of pain. Not a slashing pain he usually associated with Izaya. More like getting slammed down by a 300 kg refrigerator pain.

His head spun and his throat was dry. Opening his mouth pained his cheek and he felt up to find a still healing bruise. He tried to speak but found difficulty in actually forming words. (And why did he distinctly remember a soft weight on his lips?)

There was a sharp pain around his chest (and a lingering touch. Why?). A cracked rib?

"You got hit by a truck and was hospitalized, nii-san," Kasuka broke the news. Shizuo frowned. Hospital. White walls and of course, that _smell_; the smell that brought back a wave of nostalgia and dislike.

Shizuo's brain finally digested the whole sentence.

The truck _would_ explain the pain he remembered. Shizuo felt the familiar burst of anger as he realized that _Izaya_ was why he got hit by a truck and was stuck in the hospital. He growled and clenched his fist, though his movements all felt sluggish.

"Damn it. That flea, again." His voice sounded hoarse and his vocal chords hurt from sudden use. He subtly tried to clear his throat.

Celty briefly thought, 'Really, the first sentence he speaks is of Izaya. Maybe there's something more to that theory of Shinra's.' She shook her helmet to shake off the thoughts that plagued her since the conversation with Shinra. She quickly typed, 'How are you feeling, Shizuo?'

"Eh? Pissed. Damn it! It's entirely that flea's fault!" Shizuo's veins could be seen as he trembled with rage.

"Ah, Shizuo. You should calm down," Tom said quickly, though there was no real alarm in his voice. The redhead was used to the outbursts of anger.

However, it was the blond's younger brother who calmed him down. "Nii-san, I bought mocha with your favorite milk filling."

"Huh? Oh, thanks, Kasuka. You didn't have to," Shizuo reverted back to calm like whiplash. "Did you finish your shooting?"

"Ah, no. I got a break today since I heard that nii-san woke up."

"Oh."

The moment got awkward when their conversation abruptly ended. Kadota nervously cleared his throat.

"You should drink some water, Shizuo. Your voice sounds raspy."

"Ah, Kadota, you're here?" Shizuo craned his neck to look over behind Tom. Kadota nodded back.

"Thanks, Celty," the fortissimo of Ikebukuro thanked as he took a sip of water from the glass offered.

There was another pregnant pause as the whole group (minus the otakus who were busy discussing about… something about butlers, eye patches and the Victorian era) ran out of things to converse.

"You had some very interesting visitors, nii-san," Kasuka softly said, eyeing the half wilting bouquet in the glass.

"It's… a lot of flowers?" Shizuo tried. He honestly didn't know who would bring him flowers. It was obvious that Kasuka wouldn't be free to visit often (and bring flowers daily, if the various stages of flowers wilting were anything to indicate) and the others just wouldn't bother. They all knew he didn't care for things like flowers. Maybe Shinra came by? He had his odd quirks like that.

"Interesting. There's a whole of different meaning in this bouquet of flowers. Orange lilies, carnations, germanium, larkspur, monkswood and orange mock," Kasuka rambled on. What was he talking about?

"The language of flowers, nii-san," the idol explained. Shizuo nodded like that made sense.

There was an uncomfortable tension in the air as Kasuka brought attention to the flowers.

* * *

><p>Celty turned towards others, silently tilting her head as if to say, 'Well? Who's going to tell him?'<p>

Kadota flicked his eyes to Tom. 'Not me. Tom?'

Tom coolly stared back at Kadota before glancing briefly at the movie star.

Kasuka ignored the whole thing, as if to say he wasn't a part of this. Or he didn't really care. You never know what's under the emotionless mask. Shizuo obliviously sipped his water through all this.

The silence (except for the low murmuring of the anime/manga fanatics) was disrupted by the two who started at the sudden silence. Things got disastrous when Erika turned her attention to the others.

"Ah! Have you guys told him about Iza-Iza's visi –"she was stopped by Kadota's hand that muffled her voice. "Mhm, mhm uh?"

"What did you say?" Shizuo asked, glancing at the girl. He had been spacing out.

"Nothing. She's talking about a new manga. She's obsessed with a character in it," Kadota hastily explained.

"Okay?" Shizuo was confused. He was pretty sure that he heard Izaya's name, but his brain _was_ kind of dead. He must've imagined it.

"Make sure you eat these slowly and don't choke, nii-san," Kasuka monotone-ly cautioned. "I have to go back to the shooting or else my manager will get mad. I'll come by sometime later."

Shizuo hummed in understanding of the harshness of Kasuka's job. Kasuka calmly stepped around the other people and left the room with a soft 'thud' of the door closing.

Kadota was dragging the other two to the door, nodding to the blond. "I'll be going now." He was never much of a talker. Shizuo nodded in acknowledgement.

Celty seemed to slump her shoulders in relief when the trio left. 'Are you fine? I'll come back to check later but right now, I need to deliver a package on 10th Street. '

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just need a nap then I'll be all good," the monstrously strong man waved her off.

"Well, Shizuo, I'll need you back in a few weeks. Stay out of trouble till then," Tom said, checking his watch. He sighed irritably. "Got another man to catch."

"Are they paying up nicely?" the blond's eyes narrowed, checking over the dreadlocked man's appearance for any signs of injury.

"Yeah, though not as fast as when you're there." The redhead smiled, pushing his glasses back up. "I'll be going now. I'll come back tomorrow. Get some rest."

Shizuo leaned back, satisfied with the fact that his employer wasn't wounded. He laid in the silence as the last visitor left. He felt as if someone was missing, but everyone he had connections had come by already. Except for Shinra.

Yeah.

It was probably Shinra, though Shizuo wasn't sure if he wanted to the underground doctor to visit. He was just too… out there, he supposed, and he wasn't sure if he could handle him right now. The strongest man in Ikebukuro sighed and rubbed his face. He glanced over at the wilting flowers, and the feeling of something missing intensified. What did he not know?

Shizuo sighed again, pushing the thoughts out of his mind before rolling over onto his good side (though both were in quite bad condition since a truck slammed into one and the other got asphalt burned) and falling into deep unconsciousness.

* * *

><p><em>So yay! Shizuo finally woke up! AND I got this over a thousand words, not including the author's note. <em>

_I found on this website that a coma usually lasts for a few weeks so I'm hoping I get the timing right. I found the info on a website and it had .org so I'm just going to say it's credible. I don't know what injuries you get after a truck crash but obviously broken bones. I've never been seriously injured before. The worst was probably having a ping-pong table fall on my head which resulted in me being taken to the clinic and getting an ice pack. On second thought, the worst injury might be falling off a bike... but fact is, I've never broken any bones before. Not even a sprain. So a huge plot hole about Shizuo's injuries was created. Just pretend that he's a super human who heals really fast or something. I wouldn't really be surprised if that happens._

_Anyway, apparently Kasuka's an expert in flower language. I'm just kind of obsessed with it so yeah. These flowers are just what I found browsing and I thought 'Oh! That's so like Izaya! Add.' or 'Oh that explains their relationship and the flower's pretty. Add.' Might've been a bit too much. _

_Carnations - fascination  
><em>_Germanium - idiot  
><em>_Larkspur - fickle  
><em>_Monkswood - enemy  
>Orange mock - deceit<em>

_Shizuo blames every weird feeling on Shinra because he probably gets them when Shinra's around. After all, Shinra's a doctor and he would've experimented and put weird things in Shizuo's drink just to see the reaction. And then Shizuo would feel weird and then finally figure out and go 'SHINRA YOU BASTARD!' _

_Oh! And before I forget, a big thank you to Koneko-Hiruka as she has been helping me with getting the facts right. I keep forgetting to thank her._

_Feedback is always appreciated._

_New Author's Note:_

_I changed it a little bit after finding out about injuries of a car accident. I suck at writing injuries so there's going to be a few changes. Shizuo's probably tough enough to get out of an explosion from a grenade a foot away unscathed. Or something. But I thought it'll be good if I made some changes about the injuries, just so that it doesn't seem all out of the world thing. _


	7. Chapter 7

Celty didn't really have to make a delivery. Well, she did, just not the regular kind. She felt bad for leaving Shizuo alone but then also felt he needed a rest. Celty sighed. She really didn't like coming to Shinjuku but she felt it was her job as Shizuo's friend to do this. The fairy really didn't want him to be hurt.

Celty stepped into the elevator. There was a soft tinkling music play and she focused on that instead of the difficult task she self-employed. The relationship between the two was just too complicated to dwell on about. But then, nothing was simple with Izaya in the mix.

The dullahan stepped out of the elevator as it dinged and rapped sharply against the door

"Come in," a smooth voice pleasantly called out.

Celty stepped into the fancy apartment where a raven-haired man was sprawled out on the couch, studying the bizarre board game in front of him.

"I figured you'd come, my little fairy," Izaya smirked from his position.

'Shizuo's awake,' Celty stated.

Izaya hummed good-naturedly, placing a piece on his ridiculous board game. "So I've heard."

'What are you going to do, now?' Celty rather bluntly shoved her phone in the informant's face, demanding an answer.

"And why exactly do you think _I'm_ going to do something?" Izaya feigned hurt.

'Don't play dumb. I don't know what you do in those hospital visits but you obviously did _something_.'

"Oh, really?" Celty wanted to deck the all-knowing smirk off his face.

'We should've never let you in there. Who knows what you're going to do _now_.'

"Celty, Celty. My dear Celty. Didn't anyone teach you that it's wrong to blindly accuse people?" Izaya glided to the kitchen where he poured some tea. He settled back down on the couch, placing the cup on the table.

"You know, what you're essentially asking for is information. And I'm an informant. Do you get what I mean?" The informant rubbed his fingers together, making the universal sign for money.

Celty unzipped part of her jacket, reaching in for her wallet and opening it. 'How much?'

Izaya tipped his head back and laughed. "Ah, I didn't know you were willing to help Shizuo that much! This is hilarious. A dullahan helping a monster!"

He was suddenly met with shadows curling around his neck. 'Don't insult Shizuo.'

The informant smirked, tilting his head, tracing the makeshift weapon with his finger. "I wonder if shadows can really decapitate you. Is it sharp enough? Though you _do_ use a shadow scythe. I guess the real question is whether or not you'll actually attack me."

'Do you want to find out?' Celty threatened.

"Ahahahaha! You crack me up, Celty. Keep your money. I'm in a good mood today. I'll tell you what I intend to do with Shizuo. Or what I did." He paused melodramatically.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Don't worry your pretty little headless head over it."

'Are you sure you won't try to maim him? Promise me that you won't.'

Celty was really worried over this, huh? Izaya smirked. "I promise that I won't try to maim Shizu-chan in the hospital."

'And when he's out of the hospital.'

"Well, I can't just not bother Shizu-chan indefinitely." Celty started to protest. Izaya held up a finger. "But, I'll promise you that I won't after he's released but still injured. How's that for a deal?"

Celty considered it. She would've preferred that the two never meet again but this might be the best she can get from Izaya. She supposed Shizuo would enjoy the peace, even if it was for a while.

Celty nodded her yellow helmet, agreeing to the terms. 'Make sure you don't forget.'

Izaya chuckled as the headless woman left, uncrossing his fingers. Who said he would do as he promised? After all, he was Orihara Izaya. Deception was his middle name. And Celty never specified that he can't mess with Shizu-chan _emotionally_.

_'Wait for me, Shizu-chan. We'll have our fun soon enough.'_

* * *

><p><em>Celty talks to Izaya quite a lot about Shizuo. Be careful Celty! Shinra will definitely get jealous. This scene is actually based off the scene where Celty tries to find out more about the Saika sword in the book (I have 2 volumes of the Saika arc). <em>

_And I wanted to thank my reviewers because they remind me to keep writing and bring big smiles to my face (according to my English teacher, I never smile. I disagree.) _

_Getting to the dates is taking quite some time but I think it'll be worth it. _


	8. Chapter 8

Shizuo sighed, drawing a puff of smoke from the cigarette. He shouldn't be smoking. After all, he just got discharged from the hospital about a week ago. His bruises were fading back to skin color and were not as prominent as a few days ago. His right side was also healing nicely, scabbing over the scrapes where he slid across the asphalt. His head still hurts quite a bit though.

He scanned around the city, hoping to _not_ see a certain flea. There were no signs of black-haired red eyed men for a week. He usually came almost every other day.

Damn it. Why didn't he feel satisfied? This was what he wanted for a long time. Peace. No annoying flea annoying him and sparking his temper. Besides, he had been injured (because of the flea and the thought made him crush his cigarette) and wasn't this what he needed? To heal peacefully and not go around lifting bone-crushing vending machines that could possibly crush him if he wasn't careful.

Shizuo lit another cancer stick, taking a deep drag. There was an uneasiness that couldn't be calmed by nicotine alone. He felt as if he needed to get physical. He needed adrenaline pumping through his veins as he chased around an informant, hurling projectiles at the lithe figure.

Shizuo scratched his head, feeling very, very lost (despite the city being his home). He crossed a street, balefully glaring at a truck as if it was the one that got him comatose.

He had a day off right? He wasn't due for work for two more days. What did he do usually?

Let's see. The last time he had a day off… he started with sleeping in late? But then he was usually late as the alarm clocks were usually smashed accidentally. Never mind…just skip to breakfast.

He went for a simple breakfast of instant noodles and searched for milk but found none. He had settled for water. After that what did he do?

He was pretty sure he had gone out but his memory was still wonky from the knockout. Where did he go? Did he meet Kadota? Yeah, he vaguely remembered hearing the chatter of the annoying girl. (Seriously damn it! What was her name?!)

Then… he headed towards the supermarket to buy milk and different flavors of instant noodles. But he never did make it there, did he? He was pretty sure the refrigerator was still milk free and he only had original flavored noodles in the cabinet. The question was: why did he not get his milk and noodles?

After searching his mind for a bit, the puzzle clicked into his mind. It wasn't that hard really. It was just like every other day. Because of a certain _flea_ and he had gone off on a chase with him, instead of taking his original route to the grocery. Just thinking about it made him red with anger.

So he ran around on one day off. Surely there was another time when Izaya didn't annoy him. Let's see… the second last time he had a day off was about 3 weeks ago. Well, about 7 or 8 weeks ago, considering the time he spent in hospital.

Gah! The whole thing was messing up his brain

Shizuo frowned when he realized that he didn't do much on his days off, other than chase Izaya. He decided not to think much more of it and tried to make the most out of the day. Where the hell was Izaya?

* * *

><p>The former bartender sighed as he roamed around, letting his legs take him somewhere. Anywhere, really. He looked from his feet, glancing up at the sign of the park.<p>

Figures.

He came here often enough just to talk to Celty. It was one their favorite meeting places.

Maybe he should call Celty? Just to have someone to talk to. It might be best not to bother her though. She visited him plenty enough at the hospital.

Shizuo faced up to the sky, his shades slightly blocking the harsh glare of the sun. The blond took a breath, breathing in the smoke from his cigarette and the polluted tinged air of the city. He tilted his head, closing his eyes and listening to the hustle of the crowded city. It seemed distant, the much closer murmuring of people in the park more prominent.

His thoughts were distracted by the sound of soft footsteps stopping right in front of him. A shadow casted upon his face and he slowly opened his eyes, squinting in the sudden light.

"Ah! Celty! What are you doing here?" Shizuo exclaimed in surprise, facing the yellow helmet perched on an all-black body.

'I thought I would take some time to enjoy some peace and quiet here before I face Shinra. What are you doing here, Shizuo? Shouldn't you be resting?' The text replied.

"I'll be fine. I'm just lazing around anyways," Shizuo waved off her concern.

Celty looked at the bartender outfit clad man. 'You know you can tell me your troubles, right?'

Shizuo looked at the screen before smiling. "It's okay. I'm just… I just feel uneasy. I don't know why. I mean the stupid flea isn't here and that's supposed to be good for me but… I just don't feel it. It's weird, you know?"

'It's probably just because you're expecting Izaya to come. You can rest your mind. I think Izaya went off on a business trip."

"Eh? Probably up to no good with shady crowds. Ah. I'm just really uneasy, keep expecting something to happen."

'Maybe you should busy yourself with other things. Take your mind off the issue,' the black rider suggested.

"Maybe. I think I'll go buy groceries and take a nap back home. Thanks Celty." The blonde stood up, nudging past his friend, heading in the general direction of the local supermarket. Celty stood, watching his back disappear.

* * *

><p>The headless rider shut the door before asking, 'Do you know when Izaya will be back?'<p>

"Huh? Oh woe is me! The first thing my dear sweetheart asks is when Izaya is coming back. No 'I'm home', no welcoming kisses or hugs! How could you, Celty? I thought what we had was special! How could you ask about another man?" Shinra cried, complete with exaggerated hand gestures and crumpling dejectedly down onto the floor.

Celty nudged him with her toe. 'Well, do you?'

The bespectacled man sat up. "No? He should be back in about a week or so. Why?"

'Nothing. Just curiosity.'

"Nothings 'just curiosity', . There's always a reason behind it. Unless it's an experiment. Then that could just be curiosity." Sometimes – no, most times, Shinra's logic doesn't make sense.

'Shizuo was walking around town being all uneasy because Izaya didn't show up in town today.'

"Ahahaha! Those two!"

'…Is there a reason why Shizuo would be feeling that way? I mean, he should be ecstatic with Izaya gone, even if it was temporarily. He'll finally have peace and no more troubles for at least a week.'

"That could be because Shizuo's… accustomed to that kind of lifestyle."

'?'

"Simply put, it's like the soldier who came back from war. They want peace and fought for it. But their senses take on a toll since they've been used to war for so long. They're jumpy, suspecting everyone and interpreting every little action in the most roundabout way. They usually need to see a therapist to get back into the civilian life."

Celty tilted her head at the information. 'How is that important?'

"Patience my darling. You see, Shizuo's kind of like that. He's so used to having disturbances by Izaya that he's uneasy about not having any for a few days."

'Does it really work that way?'

"Sure it does! Humans start feeling paranoid if something that they feel is routinely is out of place. It's … it's like when you're in school and you don't have homework for a day when the past week had been cramped with work. Say you finished all of it and but people would still feel paranoid about it. They'll just keep thinking about all the subjects they have and whether or not there really is homework. A huge absence is created in your schedule when something normal stops happening,"

'So what you're saying is… sort of like how people are… addicted… to a certain kind of lifestyle and when something suddenly disappear, they feel paranoid?'

Shinra laughed delightedly. "Celty, you make the best analogies. But yes, something like that. You _could_ say Shizuo's – what was that word? Addicted? – Izaya in it.

Celty shook her head, refusing to believe it. Shizuo? Addicted to Izaya? Don't make her laugh. Shinra just came up the most ridiculous theories.

* * *

><p><em>Is it just me or is Shizuo really hard to write? Like mega-super-duper hard. With Izaya, it all comes to me in a steady flow. I know what to write and the next sentence comes to me naturally. I just have to pause a few times for better vocabulary and making sure Izaya isn't suddenly morbid and my writing makes sense. With Shizuo, it's like 'Crap! What would he do? What would he say? How does he interact with people?!'<em>

_The whole disturbance in the schedule = paranoia for you analogy was probably horrible but I can't really think of how else to explain it. I'm in school so you get the homework analogy. The homework thing is legit. I get paranoid if I don't have homework but I hate homework. Speaking of school, I have tons of projects because the grades are due for the quarter and the updates are going to be slower. (i hope not. I'll try my best.)_

_I love making Shinra and Celty scene because they're just so cute. Oh! And Shizuo's mild injuries are probably going to disappear spontaneously because I can't write injuries. They're going to be either exaggerated or too mild. _

_I hope you liked it! _


	9. Chapter 9

Izaya glanced out the window, not really seeing the already blurred scenery outside, not really seeing it. It had been a very boring week, with nothing to do except be diplomatic. Honestly, the people there threatened him whenever he played a little joke. That was acceptable once in a while where it broke the tedious pedestrian reactions of civilians but doing it every other time was just too much.

It made him want to lash out and it took all of his willpower to hold it back in. It wasn't his fault that they were just so easy to bait. And he needed to have his fun _somehow,_ seeing as his beloved Shizu-chan wasn't there.

Really, the whole trip was pretty much a waste.

Izaya idly tapped his fingers against the smooth screen of his phone before turning his attention to the stop signs. Almost his station. Just a few minutes and then he'll be home.

* * *

><p>Izaya laughed as Shizuo ardently chased him down the streets of Ikebukuro. He nimbly sidestepped another street sign rocketing his way before continuing his way as the blond ripped out a vending machine. How many appliances had he inhumanely ripped out in his hot pursuit of the raven-haired?<p>

'This really just is too much fun,' Izaya mused. It didn't matter that he just got off his train or that his body was screaming for a soft mattress. Izaya wanted to make sure he got his fun first.

* * *

><p>Shizuo gritted his teeth, arms straining to pull out another metal pole out from where it was supposedly permanently mounted into the ground. He was just getting a week of long awaited peace and the flea just had to show up and ruin it.<p>

Really, it'd be far better off if the stupid informant went and offed himself. He'd be doing the whole world a favor by getting rid of the stalker and Shizuo could be eternally free of the flea.

Screaming "I-ZA-YA-KUN!" Shizuo heaved a heavy vending machine filled with soft drinks and pitched it towards the lithe black figure.

Still, as he javelin-threw the last projectile, slowing down as the other neared the border of Shinjuku, he couldn't deny the feeling of being relieved, as if his life was whole again. The un-natural uneasiness from a few days had promptly gone away.

* * *

><p>"So you're back."<p>

It was a statement, not a question.

Izaya hummed under his breath. "So I'm back."

Namie sighed, tossing down the stack paper in her hand. "Really. The first thing that you do is piss off Shizuo."

"I was merely saying 'hi' to him," Izaya smirked.

"Well, don't because someday you'll end up getting crushed by one of those vending machines," Namie curtly warned.

"Is that concern I hear, Namie dear?"

Namie all but spat. "You wish. Concern is reserved for my adorable Seji, not for deceiving scum like you."

Izaya lazily closed his eyes. "You might want to watch your mouth, Namie. After all, scums like me sign your paychecks. If you work for me, what does that say about you?"

The woman scoffed, averting her eyes from the figure on the couch. She didn't answer.

After a long stretch of silence, the black-haired beauty cleared here throat. "All I'm saying is that you should stop bothering Shizuo so much. It doesn't look good for your health."

Izaya chuckled at the thought. "I have the freedom to do whatever I want. It'd be a shame if I didn't use it to the limits."

Namie shrugged, already turning to leave. "All I'm saying is maybe you should pick another that's your type. Maybe even fly over to another country and find someone just like him. One that can actually love _you_."

Izaya paused. "And maybe _you_ should find another brother. Fly over to another country and clone him. You better make sure the clone doesn't meet with the pretty little head or he'll fall in love with it too," Izaya coldly smiled mockingly.

"Tch. I'll be taking my leave. No one can replace my Seji," Namie turned away, losing the battle.

Izaya heard the door close – more like slammed – and looked out to the city lights, lost in thought.

_'Type? I don't _have_ a type. I have Shizu-chan,' _Izaya reflected. _'Besides, didn't Namie know that the challenge was what made it more fun?'_

* * *

><p>Erika turned excitedly towards the commotion that bounded from the other side of the city.<p>

"Eek! Shizu-chan and Iza-Iza's at it again! This is so exciting!" she proclaimed to the other males.

Kadota rolled his eyes. _'Sure, exciting. After all, you never know when one of them will cme at you when they hear the ludicrous notion.'_

Walker turned hurriedly to his fellow otaku, despite the fact that the topic of the conversation was currently wreaking havoc on the other side of town. "Shh! What if they hear you? They'll crush you like a bug that you won't even have time to shout 'Sebastian!'."

"But it's true! Shizu-chan's a bit dense so he hasn't figured out his feelings yet! It's all sexual tension speaking right now," the hat-donning girl protested. A loud boom from a large something hitting pavement emphasized her point.

"And Iza-Iza's just teasing him to get attention. You know, just like a boy pulls on a girl's pigtails on the playground because he likes her."

Kadota can't imagine Izaya and Shizuo playing on the same playground. Or worse, Shizuo with pigtails. The man glanced up as a roaring car flipped several meters away. He sighed. He supposed it was time to shut Erika up.

Kadota and Walker, who noticed the two figures approaching them at rapid speed, simultaneously clamped their hands over Erika's jabbering mouth.

"But Shizu-chan is just so fun to tease for Iza-Iza and – mmhmm mhhm mmm!" she glared briefly at the hands.

"Hey, Dota-chin!" Izaya waved a switchblade held hand as he passed the trio and the van.

"I-ZA-YA!" Shizuo came roaring past like a charging bull.

"Waah! So cute! It's just like a lovers' quarrel! It's just on a larger scale! After all, Iza-Iza's in LOVE with Shizu-chan and vice versa!" Erika squeaked excitedly.

_'How did she escape our hands?'_ Kadota thought in alarm.

"HUH?" Shizuo turned at the sound of a female voice chattering away excitedly at the idea of two men.

Walker quickly clamped a hand on her mouth from behind. He secured his grip and wrapped a hand around her waist, already dragging her off backwards.

"Nothing, nothing!" Kadota hurriedly explained, laughing slightly, already heading back into the van. "Nothing at all!"

The van screeched off, as soon as the man climbed into the back, the doors still flapping open. Reprimanded shouting and indignant cries of '_Eh? Why not? They're perfect for each other!'_ heard through the opening.

* * *

><p>Izaya paused at the sound of 'Iza-Iza' and 'Shizu-chan'. He briefly scowled at the girl, though she was too entranced in her own world to notice.<p>

But really, who does she think she was, calling _his_ Shizu-chan 'Shizu-chan'? Shizu-chan can only be _his_. Only _he_ could call Shizu-chan 'Shizu-chan', not anyone else, and not certainly an anime/manga obsessed girl who had half of her mind in fiction.

He… supposed he _disliked _her, no matter that she was human.

"HUH?" Shizuo roared. Stupid protozoan. Couldn't even figure out simple nicknames.

While Dota-chin and the other two made their hasty escape, Izaya came to a decision. Time to test how much Shizu-chan is aware of … all of this.

"Nah, Shizu-chan. They paired us up. Isn't that adorable?" he asked, pointing his blade at the blond.

"Huh? What's adorable?" Shizuo aimed a punch for the pale face. Seems like Shizu-chan didn't even know realize what he said. Izaya sighed.

This proved to be more challenging than before. Well, that doesn't matter. Izaya Orihara liked challenges after all.

"Shizu-chan doesn't even realize what she meant, did you? Shizu-chan's such a dum-dum," Izaya crooned teasingly.

"Shut the hell up, I-ZA-YA!" The man himself had to use his honed reflexes to dodge the incoming barrage of punches. He leapt to safety on top of a nearby trash can.

"Ahahaha! Can't catch me,_ Shizu-chan_. If you can't catch me, how can you catch my love?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Shizuo paused, chest heaving with fast-paced breaths.

"Didn't you hear lovely Erika Karisawa? She thinks we're supposedly in love!" Izaya balanced himself onto a nearby railing, walking wobblingly.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Shizuo actually paused, his eyes wide with surprise. Shizu-chan just needed everything spelt out for him, doesn't he?

"She thinks we're in love," Izaya repeated, slowly. "Not sure how she got that idea seeing as Shizu-chan's a monster that no one will ever love." An obvious lie.

"Shut the fuck up flea. This is all just part of your plan to mess with my head, isn't it? I'll get you this time!" Shizuo didn't bother to listen to more of this nonsense, opting to get more physical and hurled a metal pole at Izaya, sparks flying off as the pole came into contact with the railing below the man.

"Interesting,ne? Well, see you later, Shizu-chan! Unlike you, I have work waiting for me. Later!" With a careless wave, like he hadn't been chased by a superhuman strength possessing blond with a murderous intent, Izaya hurried off into the general direction of Shinjuku.

* * *

><p>Shizuo watched Izaya go, restricting himself from chasing him again. He could always beat up the flea later, he supposed. Shizuo adjusted his shades before turning to have a smoke, ignoring the total chaos and public damage that he left behind. He never knew that the little comment left behind by a certain otaku would leave him with troubling thoughts for quite some time.<p>

* * *

><p><em>I actually updated the wrong chapter. Sorry. But here you go. I like how Namie and Izaya's conversation turned out in this one. <em>

_Hope you liked it!_


	10. Chapter 10

Shizuo stepped into the shower, letting his mind wander around as he stood under the pouring showerhead. After some mindless wandering, his thoughts finally landed on a troubling one. Something a certain girl who was always with Kadota had said.

_"It's because Shizu-chan's in love with Iza-Iza and vice versa!"_

Shizuo snorted. Him? Love Izaya? More like hate him so much he wants to impale the smirking face to a pole.

If the former bartender was going to love somebody, it certainly wasn't going to be some annoying flea with a tendency to light his fuse up in seconds.

No. Shizuo… Shizuo was going to… the blond frowned and ran his fingers through his damp hair when he realized that he didn't _have_ a type. There just had been way too much chaos going on in his life and desperately trying to keep his temper in check. It was worse after he met Izaya in high school and spent most of his time chasing him around. He didn't have much time to meet girls, much less pick out a type.

The blond supposed he wanted someone who was nice, simple and didn't mind loving him despite everything. A _yamato nadeshiko,_ he supposed. No one annoying and twisted like the flea.

Shizuo paused in his washing when he realized one important flaw in the girl's logic. He wasn't even gay!

Shizuo grinned at the peace of mind, returning to scrub his body with soap. His renewed actions stopped again when his brain brought back a little memory that sent his imaginary argument crashing down.

_"Kasuka, I'm not GAY."_

_"Brother, you never had a girlfriend in your life and you're 24… that makes you gay."_

Shizuo clutched the pipe. Does that make him gay? Kasuka definitely knew more about society and whatever society classified people as. Was he _gay_? Did never having a girlfriend matter that much?

Shizuo increased his grip on the pipe. He sighed through his nose, closing his eyes and leaning his forehead against the cool tiles. The coolness briefly distracted him from the troubling thoughts.

He was startled when he realized that he crushed the pipes, a handprint embedding itself into it. Glancing at the small clock at the other corner of the bathroom, he frowned when he realized that he was taking over the 5 or 6 minute shower rule he employed himself to save water bill. Hastily, he closed the shower before wrapping a towel around his waist.

* * *

><p>His thought soon returned back to Izaya and their relationship. Reaching for a clean T-shirt and pants amongst the bartender suits, he scowled. Izaya had gotten him kicked out of that job, hadn't he? Even after Kasuka had thoughtfully bought him spares of the suit.<p>

Izaya was just always ruining his life, wasn't he? Just one thing after another. There had been the whole incident back in high school. Even before that, Shizuo earned countless of detentions because of Izaya.

That disappointed his family, Shizuo knew. They put up with all his crap and what did he give them? Broken refrigerators, detentions, almost going to jail and getting fired from his jobs one after another. A failure in all.

As he dragged the shirt down, the fortissimo of Ikebukuro realized that he'd known Izaya for what? 8 years? Aside from his family and Shinra (who didn't really count much as a friend… Shizuo knew that he wanted to experiment on him and kept close. And the blond only really stuck to Shinra because he was pretty much the only one who could explain the supernatural strength and wasn't so scared of it), did he even know anyone for over 8 years?

Shinra introduced him to Celty later on, after starting high school. Shizuo still can't figure out whether Shinra trusted him enough to let him in on the secret or if there had been something wrong with Celty before she became the 'Black Rider'. There hadn't been much rumors about her when he was in middle school..

Tom… He'd known Tom briefly since middle school but then he only really known him when he entered high school. And then there were the years where they briefly lost contact before Tom gave him the job. Did those years count? If they didn't, it was about… what? 4 or 5, maybe?

Kadota… He'd been in the same year of high school but the man kept his distance, until about the last year. So...4 years?

The monster of Ikebukuro bit his lip as he went through the list of people he knew and scowled when he realized that he known Izaya, someone he hated, more than most of his friends. What does that say about him?

Shizuo ran his fingers through his drying hair and stood up from the bed, intending to go to the kitchen. He desperately tried to find someone he'd liked and known for 8 years. Who else does he know? Who was he missing?

Simon! But did Simon really count as a friend? He was more of a parent, with him scolding Shizuo and Izaya all the time for fighting and forcing them to 'make up' over discounted sushi.

How many years had he known Simon? The blond seen the monstrous man since he was little (kinda hard _not_ to see) but he only really came into personal contact after… Izaya came to high school and pissed him off and they went around school and town, destroying public property.

Shizuo sighed, pawing through the cabinets for food. There was a bag of molding bread in the corner. Knowing Simon for 8 years, mostly because of Izaya didn't really count as a win.

The strongest man of Ikebukuro decided that these were troubling thoughts. Thoughts that he didn't need and were too much trouble to think about. Who cared if he'd known Izaya for 8 years, longer than most people in his life?

He picked up a recently bought curry flavored instant noodle packet. Maybe later he'll go down and grab a cherry pie from the bakery. He'd been craving that for about a week now.

* * *

><p>"It's never going to work. He'll kill you before then."<p>

"And that's why I have so many ways of _convincing_ him. Besides, nothing's impossible."

"Well, whatever ways you have, he'll never agree to it. He'll snap you like a twig before you can even speak."

"You forget that you're talking to someone who's been chased by Shizu-chan countless times and survived."

"Tch. You definitely won't after you make this attempt. Good riddance."

"Oh I will. I have a better chance of succeeding than you with your ignorant brother."

"Shut up. Seji noticing me and acknowledging me is enough."

"And that's where you and I are different. I'm not satisfied with only acknowledgement. I need more and I'll get it."

"We'll see. Don't come back crying to me when you're beaten to a millimeter of death."

"Oh, wouldn't dream of it. No one wants to see a cold-hearted bitch's face when they're dying."

* * *

><p><em>Yamato <em>_nadeshiko - I think it means something like a traditional Japanese woman. Kind, caring, nice, loves children, shy, delicate. A very feminine woman._

_And most of it is Shizuo's thoughts but the last part was a last minute thing because if I made that into another chapter, it probably would've been too short. And because I'm too tired (I went out all day. I hate going out.), it's all just dialogue._

_The pie thing may sound weird but I'm celebrating Pi Day, March 14th._

_Thanks for reading! Hope this wasn't boring for you._


	11. Chapter 11

Izaya half-heartedly laughed as he ran through the streets of Ikebukuro, his body instinctively dodging a trash can. His thoughts were on other matters, much more important the thrill of the chase. He had to make sure that he got this perfectly. Lord knows that Shizuo had to be played right and the slightest mistake would mean failure.

Izaya didn't like failure, even on his first try.

Glancing through the streets, Izaya made a left turn, jumping high before swinging himself on a street lamp. It would be quiet here, but not too quiet. The people in the area were quite used to the bellowing of the monster of Ikebukuro. When Shizuo yelled, they would not even bother to glance at them.

Shizuo followed the smaller man into the dark alley, grinning ferociously. "Nowhere to run now, flea. Prepare to meet your doom."

Izaya hopped unto a nearby dumpster, crossing his legs. He returned the grin, twirling his switchblade in his hands.

"Ah, but that is where Shizu-chan is wrong. You and I both know I can escape this dead end in seconds. I have to talk to Shizu-chan. A deal if you will."

"Well, too bad I don't have anything to say to you, flea! I'm not making any kind of deal with you," Shizuo stepped forward, raising his fist threateningly.

"I thought you'd say that, Shizu-chan," Izaya laughed, opening his arms and assuming another totally inappropriate pose. "Why not listen to the deal first? Who knows, it might make your life better."

Shizuo cracked his knuckles, tilting his head. "The only way my life will be better is if you dropped dead right now, flea!"

"Such crude words! I'm hurt, Shizu-chan." Izaya clutched his chest in fake pain. "But here's my idea. I want you… to go on a date with me." The man spreads his arms, his fur trimmed jacket enhancing the movement.

"No, I'm not sparing your li – wait what?" The blond stopped in his advance.

"See, Shizu-chan. I'm bored. Since I'm bored, I need something to do. Something exciting," Izaya paused. "Are you following this? I know you're a protozoan with a brain the size of a pea but do try to understand. Blink once if you do."

Shizuo blinked instinctively at the order. The other man let out a laugh, thrilled at the reaction from the otherwise frozen man.

"Now, this is where you come in. You entertain me, Shizu-chan. So let's go on a date!"

"What the fuck, flea?! I'm not your personal circus! And why a date?" Shizuo frowned, brows furrowing at the puzzling logic.

Izaya shrugged, his jacket dropping off his shoulders. "Humans are so interesting, ne? They have the strangest ideas. Think back, Shizu-chan. Remember when you welcomed me back to town?"

The blond scowled. He didn't _welcome_ Izaya to town. It wasn't even his town! Izaya just bothered to come here every few days.

"Remember that Erika? The otaku girl who said we were in love?"

There was a brief silence as Izaya paused to see the other's reaction. The former bartender didn't move a muscle.

"Well, I thought 'Why not?' Why not spice life up a bit? Why don't I try giving Shizu-chan my love, like I do for my lovely humans?"

The taller man paused at the word 'love' before scowling again. "Tch. I don't need this shit. What I need – "

"Shizu-chan's so rude! He never listens to someone completely, does he?" Izaya pouted. He resumed grinning the next second. "Except I realized that Shizu-chan's a monster and doesn't _deserve_ my love. Still, I thought, it doesn't _have_ to be love. It can just be an act."

"I-ZA-YA, you faking little – " Shizuo was ready to crush the toehr into a pulp. There was a dumpster conveniently placed nearby too.

"Uh-uh. You gotta listen when people are speaking, Shizu-chan!" The smaller man leaned back on his hands. "As I was saying, I thought 'why not _do_ something like lovers'? Why not go on a date with Shizu-chan?!"

"I don't want to go on a date with you, flea!" Shizuo practically shouted in the other's face.

"As I said, there's no option of refusal. What I want, I get, Shizu-chan." _And that includes you. _

"If I don't want to go on a date with you, I don't have to. There! Refusal!"

Izaya smirked. "Except I have ways of getting you to agree with me!"

"I'm never agreeing with you!"

"I understand that life is all a game of give and take. You go on a date with me to ease my boredom… and I'll tell you where's the little fairy's head is. What do you think? Fair deal?"

The blond growled and swallowed down his initial protest. That sneaky bastard. He was going to get Celty involved in this? He had to think through this carefully.

Shizuo weighed his options. He could say no, but then that would ruin the chance to know about Celty s missing head.

Celty had been worried about it since forever and the former bartender knew that she's been searching for it since she came here to Ikebukuro. And wasn't there that debacle with her head and the stalker girl and the guy who stabbed him with pens?

"What do you know about Celty?" Shizuo demanded.

"I _am_ an informant, you know. It's my job to know everything and nothing about anything," Izaya smirked.

Information about Celty was sacred to come across. Of course the _flea_ would have it.

"So what do you say? A date for some information on our favorite dullahan?"

The blond clenched his jaw. This was what Celty wanted for a long time. She would be thrilled if she could just get a sliver of information on the whereabouts of her head. It'll be a way to pay her back. After all, she'd gotten him out of so much trouble and listened to all his woes.

And Shinra _did_ treat him for free whenever he went there.

But then again, this was spending a _whole _day with the flea. And he was pretty sure that the flea was going to drag him around and who knows what they'll end up be doing? Shizuo couldn't even last spending 15 minutes in the same room as Izaya. The whole day doing what the man wanted would be just torture. The blond didn't even know if the he could hold back from trying to kill the other.

The fortissimo of Ikebukuro took a deep breath, glancing back at the smirking man who was awaiting his answer.

_"It's because Shizu-chan and Iza-Iza are in love!"_

No. He wasn't going down that path again. He was _not_ thinking about that. Though… going on a date with the flea would prove it wrong, right? There was no way he'd like the date.

The suit-wearing man opened his mouth.

But he didn't have any date to compare it to… he closed his mouth with a clack.

"I'm waiting, Shizu-chan. You have to give me an answer. A day off from yours or letting go of the chance to solve the whereabouts of Celty's head?" The russet-eyed man taunted.

Shizuo scowled, glaring at the smaller. Not having a date doesn't really matter, does it? He just knew that he wouldn't like it. It was the flea, after all. Of course he wouldn't like it.

If he accepted, he'd have a chance to prove the girl's theory wrong _and_ can let Celty have info about her head. If he didn't… Celty would still be in square one and Shizuo… would be left with doubts in his mind. Although there was no way he could be _gay_ and love the _flea._

It would be a win-win situation. He just had to spend a day with the informant. He was sure he could control himself. Those anger management classes should come in handy right now.

"Fine. I'll go on a date with you," Shizuo all but spat. He really needed a nicotine stick right now.

"Oh. How interesting. I was sure you'd refuse," Izaya tilted his head, smirk widening at the reply. He really had thought Shizuo would refuse. He'd make sure that he had numerous back-up plans. This just shows how unpredictable the monster of Ikebukuro was.

"Ahaha. Shizu-chan's so interesting! I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow then!" Izaya bounded down from the dumpster, a slight skip in his step.

Shizuo frowned as his mind wrapped around the information. "I have work on tomorrow, you shitty flea!" And like hell he was going skip work and let Tom down because of a _date_ with the bloody flea.

"Don't worry about that! I've got it all fixed, Shizu-chan! A certain Yagara Naro will be willing to pay up all his debts to Tom tomorrow. Just be sure to wake up early the next morning. Or I'll come wake you up," the raven-haired winked, waving his mobile around. "See ya!"

Shizuo watched as the last trace of the fur trimmed jacket disappear around the corner before lighting a cigarette. He really needed a smoke right now. He briefly wondered what he just agreed to.

* * *

><p><em>I don't know Shizuo's thought process. Maybe he's not as reasonable when it comes to Izaya. I hoped this turned out well. <em>

_Also, in the last chapter, there was a little flashback about Kasuka saying Shizuo's gay. I don't know if this actually happened in the anime or not but I found it on the internet and it stuck. _

_I hoped the scene turned out well and you liked the chapter. Thank you for reading!_

_New Note: _

_If you oldies have read the new note in Chapter 15, I'm changing things starting from here. So it's Celty's head on the deal, not Kasuka. Either way, Shizuo goes on the date. _

_New people! Ignore this if you want. If not, you can just be confused. _


	12. Chapter 12

Shizuo groaned as his phone rang. Blindly fumbling for the device and almost sending his bedside lamp crashing to the ground, he swore. Who the hell was calling him? The alarm didn't even go off yet.

The bleary-eyed man accepted the call without even looking at the I.D.

"What?" he barked out.

"Shizu-chan! You aren't even awake yet! I told you to get up early!" the annoying voice from the other end chastised him.

"Flea! Why the fuck are you calling me?!" Shizuo growled, fully awake and sitting up in his bed.

"Shizu-chan forgot our date?! That hurts. I was supposed to be your girlfriend for the day!"

"Girlfriend?! What the hell? You're a guy, idiot flea."

"I know that! It's the concept of it, you protozoan!" Izaya explained exasperatedly. "Come out and open the door. I'm tired of waiting for your lazy ass."

"…what?" Shizuo looked dumbfounded towards his bedroom door? Izaya was in his apartment? That was… first of all, how did he even get in? How did he even know where the former bartender lived? …okay. Stupid question. They both knew where the other lived but it was sort of a unanimous rule that they don't visit. And second, creepy. The man was lurking outside his bedroom door…

"Your apartment door. Do you not hear me ringing the bell?" On the other end, there was a sound of a finger rapidly tapping something plastic.

Soon enough, the faint sound of the bell rang through the apartment.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Jeez." Closing the phone shut, he tossed it back to the table with a clack. Ignoring his rumpled yesterday's clothes and the fact that his hair was sticking up all over the place, he stumbled out of his warm bed and onto the icy floor.

Thoroughly confused about why Izaya would be outside his apartment door, he opened it to reveal the said man.

"Shizu-chan!" the informant spread his arms wide as if to hug the other man before abruptly stopping, wrinkling his nose. "Did you even _shower_ yesterday?"

A blush forming, the taller turned his face away. "What the hell do you want?"

"I came to pick out your outfit!"

Shizuo turned back, absolutely speechless as he comprehended the sentence. "What?"

"I came to pick out your outfit," the black-haired repeated slower. "You're really slow at times, you know."

"I'm not your fucking dress-up doll! Go away!" Shizuo barely finished his sentence when Izaya pushed past the door into his apartment.

"Wow… such a mess."

Shizuo blushed again, looking around at the room where everything and anything was strewn in every little space available. There were empty take out containers clustered on the dining table, a basket of laundry that he wasn't sure if they were already washed or needed to be washed. The washing machine door was still open from the last time he used it (about… a few weeks ago?) and dust was gathering in it.

"Shizu-chan doesn't get it, does he? I need to pick out your outfit," Izaya insisted.

"I'll shower and dress nicer, okay?" Shizuo snapped, pulling out of his thoughts on his messy apartment. He just forgot to shower yesterday. He didn't have bad hygiene _all_ the time.

"That's not the point! The point is-" Izaya stomped his foot like a petulant child.

"What? That I'm a doll?" Shizuo asked half sarcastically.

"- You're just going to wear one of your stupid bartender outfits again!" Izaya continued as if he had never been interrupted. "_Everyone _knows who you are, mainly because of your outfit! We won't be able to enjoy the whole day if people keep whispering 'Oh! Is that Shizuo Heiwajima?' Think logically for a second!"

The blond closed his already open mouth, ready with a protest. What the other said actually made sense. Izaya was even wearing something else other than his usual fur-trimmed jacket that usually gave his identity away. Still…

"I think I can dress myself." Shizuo was not going to let this go without a fight.

"Just go and shower. I'll pick out something for you, okay? Gotta make sure you don't accidentally pick out a bowtie."

The bigger man went to block the bedroom door, taking a deep breath to calm down. The stupid flea was walking around like he owned everything. "I don't trust you to be in here. You're lucky enough that you got past the threshold to the living room without getting your brains bashed out by a chair. There's no way I'm letting you into my room."

Izaya raised an eyebrow, smirking. "And it's not like I'm going to steal your money. That is, if you even _have_ any."

"You're missing the point." _Deep breaths. Don't let him get to you. You don't want a hole in the wall. The neighbors will complain_.

"Aw. Is Shizu-chan embarrassed? Perhaps you have something _very_ secretive hidden in here? Are you harboring a secret crush on… say, Simon?"

"The fuck?" Shizuo spluttered out. "NO!"

Izaya ignored the response and walked in like he owned the place. Smug bastard.

"I told you, Shizu-chan. Go shower. It'll save more time this way. Don't worry. I won't pick something like a clown outfit."

Huffing, Shizuo decided to head towards the bathroom. It was better this way right? He didn't have anything valuable in the room. And it would help him cool down anyway. He felt as if he was going to snap the other's neck any second.

A cry of triumph came from his bedroom door. "AHA! I KNEW IT!"

Shizuo stumbled back into the room, stubbing his toe with the door frame. He cursed loudly.

Izaya looked up from behind the closet door, ginning wildly like a child on Christmas morning. "I knew it! You really do have sets and sets of those suits in here!"

Shizuo pinched the bridge of his nose, forcing deep calming breaths. Shaking his head and ignoring the dull pain coming from his foot, he limped slightly back to the bathroom.

It was going to be a long day, wasn't it?

* * *

><p>"Here, wear this. And that. Wait, on second thought. This looks better on you."<p>

Shizuo stood stock still in his towel, hair dripping wet as he watched the smaller man go through every article of clothing in his closet.

He had been going on for… what? 10 minutes and despite the fact that 60% of the blond's closet was filled with bartender suits, still couldn't seem to decide on an outfit.

"You look better in white than black. Maybe navy blue?"

"For fuck's sake. Just get on with it!" Shizuo scowled.

"Here. And this one – no on second thought. This one's better." The blond was simply amazed at the senselessness of this. Those were identical white shirts! Absolutely no difference at all.

After a few more minutes, Izaya nodded approvingly as Shizuo was clad in a pair of dark blue (almost black really) pants that he had no idea he owned, one of the numerous white shirts that was already becoming transparent from the water dripping and a light blue jacket that surprisingly still fit even though it's been in the wash wrong for more than once.

The older briefly wondered if the whole day was going to be like this as he was dragged out of his own apartment by an energized flea.

* * *

><p>"Why the fuck are we here, flea?" Shizuo stared at the sign in front of him, ignoring the screams and laughs.<p>

"Why, Shizu-chan, this is where our first date is going to be! Perfect, ne?" Izaya grinned widely.

The blond glanced down to where Izaya stubbornly clinged to his arm being… a clingy flea/girlfriend, he supposed.

What was that advice that Kasuka gave about first dates? Let her do what she wants. Never get angry. Don't let anything set you off.

That was harder when said 'girlfriend' was actually a guy and the flea at that. He was the epitome of everything that set Shizuo off and made him throw vending machines around town.

But… he should just pretend this was a normal date with a normal girl. Yes. A normal girl… that looked too much like Izaya.

Izaya as a girl… that was a weird thought.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he blocked out all the other noise and tried to imagine someone else clinging to him. A nice, pretty girl who didn't like stabbing him with a knife.

He didn't succeed.

But all he really have to do was go along with the flea's plans for one day and be civil to him right? He could do this. He went the whole morning without throwing a punch at him Izaya. He could be civil.

This was for Celty. He could definitely do this.

Shizuo cleared his throat and glanced down again. "Yeah. Perfect."

He missed the surprise that flitted across the informant's face before a grin replaced it again.

"Shizu-chan's paying for the tickets!" The man yelled childishly, already dashing in.

Shizuo swore. If he was paying for everything, this date was going to get him broke. Well, more broke than before.

* * *

><p><em>So not a date yet, mostly because I'm a procrastinator but also because this was a scene that I really wanted to add in, mainly because Izaya's being a girl with all the outfits. Shizuo probably wouldn't let Izaya come near his apartment, much less his room. He's a lot more tolerant in this story. <em>

_Also, guess where they are. ;P_

_Thanks for reading and I hoped you liked it!_


	13. Chapter 13

Shizuo broke into a run after Izaya. After entering the gate, the pair was getting a few curious glances when the blond held up Izaya by his jacket, like a mother scolding a child. The dark-haired man pouting didn't help the image.

"Because of that, you have to pay for the tickets. Shizu-chan's being mean today," the informant childishly swings his dangling legs, managing to catch the other in the shin.

Shizuo set him back down before taking a calming breath. The man should pay for everything, right? And going by Izaya's logic, Shizuo was the boyfriend here. The former bartender briefly thought about arguing with the other but then realized that that would put _him_ in the position of a girl.

If the flea wanted to be a girlfriend because of some weird perverted hobby, then fine. Shizuo always thought that he looked too much like a girl anyway.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going," Shizuo grumbled, running his fingers through his hair.

Izaya clamped himself onto the other arm. The blond tried to shake him off.

"What the fuck, flea? Let go!"

_Mine._

Izaya stuck closer to Shizuo, if that was even possible. "Shizu-chan should be a good boyfriend and let his girlfriend hold onto him. Besides, you're warm."

_Mine._

Shizuo stared at the nuzzling figure in disbelief. _'Don't throw him off,' _he reminded himself. And surely that hooker-jacket didn't offer the flea _that_ much of heat.

"You're cold?" the blond blurted out.

Izaya arched an eyebrow at him before grinning.

_Shizu-chan's quite dense in terms of relationships. Oh, well, I'll have to teach you some lessons then. When you become mine, that is._

"Yes. I'm cold and since Shizu-chan's warm, I'm going to stick to Shizu-chan."

The monster of Ikebukuro frowned. He didn't do much touchy-feeling sort of thing. It was just uncomfortable to touch someone else so intimately. Besides, who'd get close to someone who could accidentally snap them in half?

But… this was what people on dates do right? The guy offers the girl his jacket, or in this case, body warmth.

"Whatever. We gotta get in line."

* * *

><p>Izaya still clung onto his arm like a leech as Shizuo paid for the tickets. The girl behind the counter didn't even bat an eyelash at the pair, preferring to snap her gum and count the exact change.<p>

Shizuo had really hoped that the clinging was a phase, hopefully a 5 minute one, but they'd been standing in the line for over 15 minutes and Izaya doesn't seem to be showing any sign of letting go. It definitely must be hot sticking next to him for so long. Shizuo knew he was.

"Na, Shizu-chan. Let's go on the rollercoaster!" Izaya exclaimed, eyeing the hazardous vehicle in the distance filled with a screaming crowd.

"Eh? No. Let's go get food. I'm hungry," the blond forcefully dragged the smaller towards a stand filled with mouthwatering hotdogs.

"But Shizu-chan!" the informant whined.

"It's your entire fault anyways, shitty-flea. _You_ dragged me out without breakfast," Shizuo growled, forgetting all about his goal of being civil to the other and slipping back into calling him 'shitty-flea'.

Shizuo startled when the warm body detached from his side. Surprised, he glanced off to his side to see Izaya standing stock still, arms crossed and a frown marring his features.

"Shizu-chan's gotta let the girlfriend choose where they want to go first!"

_Give me what I want._

The taller's stomach growled. "Yeah? I'll just take you to where I want to go first."

Shizuo tried to grab the other man's waist, intending to throw him over his shoulder and carry him to the area where the tempting scents were wafting from.

Izaya dodged the grabbing hands, narrowingly missing getting caught as the big hands brush against his smaller waist.

"Shizu-chan's gotta catch me first, then!" Laughing, the informant of Shinjuku went off running in the other direction.

Tilting his head up to the sky, Shizuo tried to squash the instinct to chase after the dark-haired and took a step in the other direction.

"Shizu-chan's being a bad boyfriend! Not even following your date around?"

Shizuo whipped his head around to find the other standing a little way off, just waiting to be chased.

"Shizu-chan's being mean! You're a horrible boyfriend!" Izaya repeated in a louder voice. They were attracting attention now, though it could be rather the way Izaya twirled around in his spot, taunting, more than the volume.

_'Don't kill the flea. Don't chase him. Don't let anything get to you,'_ Shizuo repeated the mantra to himself.

"Shizu-chan's a meanie! He's going to forcefully drag his girlfriend against-"

"Who's a bad boyfriend, I-ZA-YA-KUN?" Shizuo snapped, his fortissimo voice resounding in the area around them. There was a brief silence after that and the man stood, chest heaving from the effort of keeping himself restrained.

Low murmurs and disapproving glances came him way and parents started to herd their children from the hazardous man.

"Shizu-chan is! Catch me if you can!" Izaya yelled, grinning and taking off towards another attraction in the park.

Shizuo gave chase, ignoring the rumble that his stomach let out in protest. If Izaya wanted it that way, he'll give it. The date's wants come first, right?

Leaping over a trash can and making sure to refrain from throwing anything, the blond reflected on how much a like this and his first date with an actual _girl_ would be. She would probably run away too.

Weaving through the crowd that was quickly giving way to make the two a path, Izaya laughed delightfully, the sound echoing back to Shizuo.

But then again, Izaya seemed to enjoy the chase. He glanced back now and then to make sure that the other was still chasing him. This was something that a normal girl most certainly would not enjoy.

Shizuo grinned, giving a little more effort to the chase. If the _girlfriend_ enjoys it, there was no problem with the action, even if it was… a bit rough, right?

* * *

><p>Izaya grinned, feeling the wind rush through his hair. It was just like any other numerous chases, though this was more <em>special<em>. After all, Shizuo was in a _date_ with him.

He never really expected for Shizuo to agree with him on this date. Even after that, he never thought that Shizuo would follow him to the park, much less pay for _both _the tickets.

The informant was slightly disappointed that he didn't get to use his plans of roping Shizuo into the date.

Izaya dodged the crowd and leapt high above a child licking ice-cream, earning a scowl and gasps of disapproval from the mother and crowd. He ignored them, more intent on zigzagging across the amusement park to get to his destination.

Shizu-chan just really surprises you sometimes, though that wasn't necessarily a bad thing today. After all, getting everything his way so easily just would've made this trip boring.

Izaya made sure to take a longer route, though the place was just _there_ and he could've easily gotten in line. There was something about a chase without life-dangering projectiles launched his way, though that was fun too.

Almost as if they were taking a _walk_. Just a bit more… energetic.

Without even realizing and letting his body go on autopilot, Izaya was already climbing and skillfully navigating up the supports of the coaster, as if he'd done it a thousand times.

"Oh, Shizu-chan, look where we are!" Izaya cried our triumphantly, balancing precariously.

_I could just push you off, you stupid brute. But you're mine, so I won't. Yet._

Shizuo landed next to him, feet sturdy on the rounded metal as if they were back on ground. He strode to the smaller, pushing against the wind that threatened to knock them both to the ground.

"I-za-ya-kun! Looks like I've finally caught you," Shizuo menacingly towered over the other.

"Yes, yes. But look where we are! Looks like I win, Shizu-chan. We went to the roller coasters first!" Izaya spread out his arms from under the blond , showing where they were, mindless of losing his balance with the action.

"But of course, since Shizu-chan's a protozoan, you couldn't just wait patiently in line and _had_ to come up here, don't you?"

"Why you -! You're the one who led me up here, you fucking flea!" Shizuo shouted, his booming voice carrying down to the onlookers down below. The pair could just barely make out the warning shouts form below that the wind carried away.

"How did they get up there?!"

"That's dangerous!"

"Hurry up and come down!"

"Someone get help!"

The sound of a rumbling mechanism distracted them from the argument.

"You've got us into so much trouble, Shizu-chan! The car's coming right at us," Izaya grinned, contradicting his words and both made no effort to move.

There was a brief silence and Izaya wondered if Shizuo was going to move at all. Well, if the protozoan wanted to die here, be his guest. This was just plan… B he supposed. He might have to fall back on Plan A if the blond wasn't going to move.

The rumbling grew louder and the former bartender gave a feral grin. "Since we're already here, might as well make the most out of it, right, Izaya-kun?"

"Eh?" No sooner had he uttered the sound, the russet-eyed man was yanked forward by the stronger. The only thing saving him from falling to the pavement was his body's auto-mechanism and the crushing grip on his hand.

"Shizu-chan?!" Izaya yelped over the ever increasing thundering of the car behind them.

_Stupid idiot. You're not supposed to do this. You're supposed to stop the car by force like you do with everything else! You're supposed to climb down. _

"You wanted to go on a roller coaster, right? Here you go! A special ride!" Shizuo yelled back, tossing the other another grin.

"Shizu-chan's such a brute!" The smaller yelled back, though he didn't try to escape the vice-like grip.

Shizuo shrugged. "I'm just doing what you wanted."

Izaya laughed, the sound carried back by the wind to the passengers in the car, who were screaming, not only in terror of the up and downs of the path but also in fear of hitting the two in front of them.

_Well, this is fun too. I guess I can't do _that_ after all. _

"You ready for the loop?" Shizuo bellowed, though he was already dragging the informant forward, not slowing his momentum despite the fact that they were going to go up and up until they were upside down. They were already halfway up the steep loop when Izaya objected.

"I'm not going up there, Shizu-chan!"

Shizuo stopped when the other man ripped his hand out from his. Shizuo was already ascending the loop when he stopped, precariously standing slightly sideways on the rails that curved upwards.

"Why? You scared, flea?" he smirked.

"No, I just don't want to go the long way up when I can go another way," Izaya countered.

The screaming behind them increased.

"Oh my God!"

"Get out of the way!"

"I'm scared of heights!"

"Oh yeah?" The blond challenged.

"Yeah," the smaller smirked, before launching himself off the steel. Shizuo watched as his fell for a brief moment, his jacket billowing out before the man landed slightly unbalanced on the rounded rails below the loop.

_Follow me. Fall with me._

Izaya looked back and up to the honey-eyed man. "Bet you can't catch me, Shizu-chan!"

Shizuo grinned at the challenge before resuming his running with a new burst of energy. The roller coaster car was on his heels as he ran _up_, running upside down in the way that only super humans could do, before curving back down faster as the force of gravity took hold.

_Idiot. _

He skidded to a stop behind Izaya, who grabbed his hand and started running sprinting again without warning. Shizuo legs stumbled before immediately righting, already joining the informant in outrunning the car.

"I bet you can't go up that hill," Shizuo dared, nodding towards the upcoming steep slope

_Fall! Damn it, you monster. Fall._

"Well, I think Shizu-chan just went up that loop because he's scared of jumping," Izaya taunted.

Shizuo snatched his hand out, cracking his knuckles. . "Then I'll show you. You just mind about going up and try not to get too scared of heights," he returned, despite the fact that they were already high above ground.

With no more words said, they both started ascending the slope, Shizuo to gain height to kick off, Izaya to reach the top and get back down.

About three quarters up the slope, Shizuo stopped and stepped onto the rungs. Izaya glanced back, not slowing down despite the fact that he was almost succumbing to the force of gravity and was running up sideways only by the momentum and sheer will.

Shizuo crouched, barely fitting in the small space, his powerful hunches tensing for the take off. It wasn't until Izaya reached the top and the car was halfway up that Shizuo kicked off, crossing the considerably narrow distance (compared to other slopes).

He almost missed the rung on the other side of the slope, barely catching it and hoisting his feet onto the steel again.

He glanced up to see Izaya running and sliding down the slope, combating the force of gravity, this time so that he didn't catapulted over his own feet and go tumbling down to the asphalt.

Shizuo started sprinting again, barely noticing the hand that inserted into his from behind and another set of footsteps that joined him. They ran up the much gentler and wider slope that soon descended down sharply before slightly evening out towards the exit.

It wasn't until they were three quarters down the slope that they noticed the increasing thundering of the machine behind and realized that they couldn't outrun the mechanism combined with the force of gravity.

"Jump, Shizu-chan! Jump!" Izaya instructed before dropping his hand and plunging down into air in the space between the rungs.

Shizuo did the same in front, managing to secure a grip on one of the rungs. Izaya attached himself onto Shizuo's legs, gripping the fabric of the blond's pants. The charging machine rumbled along on its tracks above the couple's head.

_Ahahaha. We fell together, Shizu-chan. Isn't this nice?_

"Shizu-chan, help me up!" Izaya demanded from below after the thundering had passed. The now exiting passengers were pointing and screaming for help.

Shizuo started to swing his whole body, getting his legs closer to the rungs every time. When he got close enough, the informant propelled forward to hand onto a rung by his feet. He then reached up to his toes to hang by his arms instead before pulling himself up. Shizuo had already pulled himself up behind. They both ran down the remaining length of the ride.

"That was fun, ne?" Izaya questioned, ignoring the wonder-eyed gazes and whispering.

_We're higher than_ them_. You're here with me on the top… this is a nice feeling._

"Only you would think so," Shizuo returned with a grin, despite the fact that he really was the one who started running on the attraction ride.

Shizuo stopped suddenly.

"Ah, that's right. I almost forgot," he turned to the ticket taker. "We just got on the ride. You need to rip the tickets right?" The monster of Ikebukuro rummaged out the crumpled tickets that miraculously stayed in his pockets before handing them to the handler.

The astonished man mechanically ripped the ticket on reflex and handed the paper back to the former bartender.

"Who _are_ they?"

"- delinquents?"

"-high schoolers-"

"Daredevils –"

"Shizuo Heiwajima-"

"No – no bartender suit."

"-a Orihara of Shinjuku?"

"Eh?"

"Where –"

"Fur trimmed?"

_People are just more likely to forget the faces and remember the trademark outfits of legends that they've probably never seen or have only seen once_, Izaya mused.

The pair was already long gone even before the crowd was done gossiping.

* * *

><p><em>Yay! They're finally on a date! <em>

_This scene, the whole running the roller coaster is originally YB Fan's. It's in her story 'Top of the World'. I did get permission to use the idea, though. I honestly don't really remember much about the scene in hers so I don't think it's totally copied off. _

_I really don't like roller coasters and have no idea how to describe them and whatever features they have. I used Phineas and Ferb's roller coaster as a guide because it was easier to see all the loops and slopes. If you're confused about the scene, just type in 'roller coaster phineas and ferb' in Google Images. _

_Also, I don't think I can write action, but you can't have Shizaya without some parkour. If you guys are confused about the moves that they did, you can ask me and I'll try my best to explain them as I saw it in my head. _

_So yeah! This chapter's been really fun to write. And Izaya's birthday's coming up! I'm excited. Sort of. I don't really have a oneshot thing planned for it. _

_Tell me what you think! And thanks for reading!_


	14. Chapter 14

"Fucking flea," Shizuo muttered as he glanced around for his date.

What the hell was he supposed to do, now? If he left the spot, Izaya might get upset and call off their deal, even if _he_ was the one who left first. The stupid louse was probably already finding a way to cheat his way out of the deal. Not trustworthy at all. But shit, Shizuo really wanted to eat something, especially after that run on the coaster.

Searching around again, Shizuo made sure not to stray too much from his spot. Of all the places to leave him, the flea chose to leave him right at the outskirts of the park. There wasn't even a bench for him to sit down, much less food stalls to buy from.

No, he was currently beside a rarely visited tent. Shizuo wasn't even sure if there was _anyo_ne_, _even the owner, in it.

* * *

><p>Izaya hurried through the crowd, pushing aside anyone who stood in his way, elderly or young. He should hurry.<p>

Any second wasted was a part of the day gone and Izaya was determined to have his fun.

Shizu-chan was just so fun today. Who knows what else he'd do? It was just so interesting!

Though the other was his source of current entertainment, the raven-haired still cursed him. It was his entire fault that he had to make his way back all the way here.

Izaya paused as he ordered.

What did the brute like? Certainly not mustard. Ketchup or sweet chili?

Did Shizu-chan like sweet chili? He liked sweet things and sweet chili had 'sweet' in it, but the taste usually differs with the brand. He couldn't figure out which brand as the sauces were in nameless, plain bottles and there wasn't any samples.

Sweet chili also had 'chili' in it. Shizuo hates spicy food. That and salty food.

_So different from me, ne? Why him? _

The informant picked ketchup as it was the safer bet. He'd like the day to progress without any trash cans thrown at his head, thank you very much. Well, thrown _yet_.

* * *

><p>Shizuo was contemplating on smoking a cigarette after he waited for a few minutes. Might as well try to relax and calm down the adrenaline in his blood, right? He had time to spare.<p>

He had only taken out his pack when he heard a familiar voice say, "Shizu-chan, you can't smoke here. There're children!"

"Where the fuck have you been?" Shizuo growled angrily, putting the pack back in his pocket, despite the fact that there were no children around.

Izaya tutted. "Why? Jealous? Worried that I'll go after another man?"

"What the fuck?!" the other yelled, causing a few passing in the area to look over disapprovingly.

"Calm down, Shizu-chan. You're the only monster for me," Izaya frowned. "The only monster in the world, in fact."

_The only one that interests me._

Shizuo could just feel a vein bursting somewhere in his body. "Where did you go?"

The informant ignored the question in favor of his own. "Does it really count if you're the _only_ monster?"

He brightened. "Look, Shizu-chan! I bought you a hot dog!"

The monster of Ikebukuro blinked in surprise. "Er, thanks," he automatically said, reaching out for the fast food.

"What sauce did you get?"

"Mustard."

Shizuo frowned. "I _hate_ mustard." He glared at the other like he should already know the fact, which considering Izaya's job, he probably should.

Izaya glanced over from where he was happily munching on his own hot dog. "Oh you meant yours? That's ketchup," he licked away the mustard stain from his lips.

"Oh," Shizuo unwrapped the hot dog. "Good. I was hoping you didn't get me sweet chili either."

"Ne? Shizu-chan doesn't like sweet chili? Surprising, since it's sweet," the raven pointed out.

"No. It's weird. Sometimes it's sweet, sometimes it's too spicy. And they usually have the pepper things in the sauce. What's up with _that?_" Shizuo complained, taking a bite out of his own fast food.

The other hummed, watching the crowd that passed by obliviously to the pair. He frowned down when he finished his food.

"I should take you to a restaurant. A _proper_ restaurant and not just a cotton candy stall," he mused. "You're not eating healthy."

"Tch, like you have room to talk. I bet your diet consists of midnight snacks, otooro and tea," Shizuo snorted.

Izaya arched a brow. "And how would you know about my dietary habits? ….unless of course, you've been stalking me, Shizu-chan."

Shizuo swallowed and growled, glaring down at the other. "I know enough. You have to work late hours for your job, not getting up for hours except for an occasional bathroom break. You're bound to have irregular meal times and more often than not, you're just going to grab a snack from the kitchen or otooro from Russia Sushi. You're practically living off tea, you know."

_Perspective at times… you keep surprising me._

"…you know that makes it sound like you stalk me," Izaya commented. He grinned cheekily. "Is Shizu-chan worried about me? Seems like you put a lot of thought into this."

Shizuo looked away. "I just followed logic. It's the logical conclusion, flea. Don't think too much of it."

_What do _you_ know of logic, you uncultured brute?_

Izaya balanced on the balls of his feet, leaning back to properly look at the other. "You know, Shizu-chan shouldn't be talking either. You live off packaged food. That's hardly what I would call healthy."

Shizuo frowned at the accusation. "I drink lots of milk. That's healthy."

The raven threw his head back and laughed. "Milk wasn't even originally from the East! It was imported from the West years ago. Or, is it the East, since the US is closer that way?"

"So? It's healthy," the blond insisted. He threw away the wrapper of his finished hot dog.

"Shizu-chan, it's not even originally from Japan! Lots of people in the East are lactose intolerant. And really, judging by the amount of milk you drank in high school, you should be dead from diarrhea," the informant wiped tears of mirth from his eyes.

_Shizu-chan cracks me up sometimes. I hate him. Want him._

Shizuo frowned, opening his mouth to argue. Any blind man could see that Shizuo loved milk much like the way Simon loved sushi.

"Besides, flavored milk isn't the healthiest. And I don't think they go with the Mama Curry flavored instant ramen."

Shizuo stopped. "Wait. How do you know I have Mama Curry flavored instant ramen and not original or chicken or even pork flavored?"

There was a moment of silence as Izaya smirked up at him.

"FLEA, did you raid my kitchen while I was showering?" Shizuo loomed over the smaller, drawing his face closer. He didn't give permission for the louse to go elsewhere, other than his bedroom (though he also didn't give permission for the other to come into his apartment, either).

Who knows? The underhanded man could've poisoned his water supply. Shizuo wouldn't put it past him.

"That hurts, Shizu-chan. I would never!" Izaya fake gasped, pouting a little.

"Well, did you?" Shizuo demanded.

"Take a guess. I'll never tell, though," the man gave a lopsided grin.

"I-ZA-YA! You better –"

"It hurts that you don't trust me, Shizu-chan!" Izaya yelled back, already out of the little makeshift alley and was racing down the path of the amusement park.

"Come back here you louse!" Shizuo bellowed, scaring away anyone that was within 5 meters of him.

"Be careful! Maybe I put something in your food!" the smaller taunted back. _That might be a nice plan for the next time…_

The parting words only succeeded in making the blond more enraged.

* * *

><p><em>A short chapter. I realized that I haven't updated in a while and I kind of need constant contact or I'll forget about it. I've been going back to obsessing with piano and started writing some other stuff too so this is sort of reawakening my.. Shizaya senses?<em>

_The idea of the food conversation just popped up to me like, a two days ago. I promise that Shizuo won't chase Izaya to go to the sites of the park. _

_Mama is a brand of instant noodle in my country. I'm too lazy to look up other brands. Think that's all I want to say. _

_Thanks for reading and hoped you liked it! _


	15. Chapter 15

Izaya, yet again, led the chase, dodging poles and trash cans (thankfully not flying towards him). The pair went up and down the whole park, atrociously climbing onto various buildings and rides (the shorter ones, like the merry-go-round) before plummeting down back to the pavement.

Shizuo didn't even realize they crashed into the window until the he saw the guy with fake blood in front staring at them with wide eyes.

"Look, Shizu-chan! We came into the haunted house. I'm so scared," Izaya laughed delightfully, ignoring the man clutching his axe in terror.

The blonde looked back to the destroyed window, light streaming into building. Broken glass and broken boards that recently covered the pane of glass lay strewn across the floor. There was some smog covering so that he could barely see in front and eerie music coming from hidden speakers. A high-pitched 'kyaa!' came from the back somewhere.

Shizuo raised an eyebrow. They really _were_ in a haunted house. He brushed aside any glass and splinters in the folds of his clothes as he said, "Are we going to have to pay for that?"

Izaya lazily waved the issue off, cheekily grinning. "If they don't find us at the crime scene, we're not involved in it, are we?"

The former bartender frowned at the logic.

"Besides, we're here to enjoy the park, ne? We should enjoy this haunted house, Shizu-chan," the smaller continued.

Well, that was true. And he w_as_ broke.

"Ne, Shizu-chan. You have to protect me from the scary things in here, okay?" Izaya stepped in closer towards the other.

The blond frowned deeper. Well, what the flea said made sense, he supposed. It w_as_ the job of the boyfriend to hold the girl as she gets scared, right?

Shizuo growled with the realization that the louse wasn't actually going to get scared by mere 'ghosts' in a haunted house.

No, the flea was going to cling to him because he was an annoying little prat.

Shizuo was about to voice his objection to Izaya when he had another realization.

A boyfriend was nice to the girl, no matter what. And wasn't this what they do? Even if the girl wasn't scared, she'd pretend so that they can be closer and the boy can hold her.

And the louse _did_ buy him a hot dog.

_Just think of this as practice for when you get a girlfriend_, the monster of Ikebukuro consoled himself as he snapped his jaw shut.

_Protect the girl. Pretend Izaya's a girl. Protect the girl. _

Shizuo stepped in front of the other man, facing the stranger with the fake axe.

Protect the girl.

…but he shouldn't use violence, right? That might scare the other (Shizuo isn't quite sure which other he's talking about; Izaya or the scared man).

Shizuo raised a hand.

"Yo."

Izaya burst out laughing behind him. _Unpredictable._

The blond felt his eye tick.

"I… I can't believe you! You…you," Izaya managed to say through bouts of laughter.

"Shut up. You're supposed to be scared," Shizuo grouchily replied. He turned to the other man.

"And you. Can I see that axe? Need to make sure that it doesn't hurt my… date…" the blond reached for the axe, already taking it out the other's hands.

He examined it, running his fingers against the sharp edge of the head. It was sharp enough but didn't cut his fingers. The former bartender frowned as he weighed it in his hands.

It weighed less than what he would expect from a real axe but it definitely weighed more than what he would expect from a fake. Weren't they supposed to be made of plastic?

The handle was metal and the head was a dull gray with sticky blood splattered on it.

Shizuo took an experimental swing at his own arm. The weapon bounced off the indestructible skin.

"Shizu-chan, you do know that if that turned out to be real and not plastic, you would've chopped off your arm," Izaya called up from his position on the floor where he previous had been clutching his sides with laughter.

The blond looked at the smaller like he was stupid.

"Obviously."

The stranger's eyes widened when he realized that Shizuo had taken the risk of hopping off his arm.

"The blade's dull, though. It's like getting hit by one of your blades, flea," Shizuo grinned down at the raven-haired.

Izaya sat up, glaring at the blond.

"Take that back! My blades are _not_ dull!" he pouted like a child.

_So mean._

Shizuo ignored him, continuing to study the weapon. He tapped the metal handle, listening to it chime.

"Since the head was fake, would the handle be fake too? Seems like real metal to me," he mused, examining the weapon from all angles.

"Ah, um… it's to make noise when I drop it. To scare people?" the man squeaked.

Snap!

The sound echoed through the hall. Another 'kyaa!' could be heard from behind them.

Shizuo blinked at the two piece of metal in his hands.

"Ahahahahaha!" Izaya burst out laughing. "You… you were testing… to see if… it was plastic… and if… it bends… but you broke it! Ahahahaha!"

He wheezed for breath before saying almost affectionately, "Monster."

_Monster. Monster. Monster. Monster. My monster…_

The man in front looked at the blond with terrified eyes, uttering a small 'eep!'. His whole body shook horror.

"Ah, sorry man... I ruined your prop," Shizuo stared at the pieces, frowning. He tilted his head.

"Maybe if you put them on your head," he suggested, moving to place the pieces by the man's head.

"Nooooo! I don't wanna die!" the man screamed before running away ahead.

The blond looked dumfounded at the space where he had been standing. There was a stretch of silence. Finally, Shizuo turned towards Izaya.

"…why'd he run away?" he asked.

Izaya smirked and rolled his eyes. "He obviously thought that you were going to push the metal into his head. Really, Shizu-chan. You're such a monster that you don't even realize you're one."

The date frowned. "Oh… well, whatever. Let's go, flea."

He tossed the broken weapon away (another 'kyaa! was heard, much closer this time) and ambled down the hall.

Izaya jogged a little to get to the blond's side. "Ne, Shizu-chan. You gotta take it back!"

"Take what back, hm?" Shizuo glanced at him, rummaging his pockets.

"What you said! That my knives are like _plastic_," he said the word with much contempt.

_I've slash and slash at you and cover you in scars with those knives._

"They are though," the blond goaded, grinning down at the crimson-eyed man.

The man stuck out his lower lip. "They're not! And you can't smoke in here, you brute!" the man slapped away Shizuo's hands containing a cigarette and a lighter.

"Why the hell not?" the other demanded. "There's already smoke in here!"

* * *

><p>"Ah. Is it just me or is it harder to walk in here?" Shizuo frowned, trying to look through the smoke.<p>

"Silly Shizu-chan. It's 'cause there's hands grabbing at your feet," Izaya giggled, hanging on his arm like a high school clingy girlfriend (well, he kind of is).

"Eh? Really?" the blond squinted through fog.

"There're boards here. People lay behind it and grab out legs."

"What the hell? There're no boards here, flea," Shizuo tapped the wall carefully with his foot. The hall _did_ seem smaller than before.

"That's because you're not using enough force, Shizu-chan," Izaya reasoned.

"Hmm." Shizuo drew his leg back.

"Uh, Shizu –"

BAM!

"That's too much force…" Izaya trailed off, looking at the splintered wood of the boards and dent at the far wall. A shriek sounded from far behind them.

The workers looked up to the pair with wide eyes.

The russet-eyed man looked down back at them. _It's kind of like they're worshipping us,_he thought smirking. _We're gods, Shizu-chan._

"Ah, you're right," Shizuo muttered.

Izaya snickered.

"Let's just go Shizu-chan. We still have a long way to go before we reach the exit, you know," he pulled the blond down the path.

"Eh? But we gotta help the… Oi, Izaya!"

"They'll be okay. They don't need our help, do they?" Izaya asked the strangers, eyes gleaming with the promise of misfortune if they answered wrong.

"Ah, that's right. You can just go on," one of the strangers nervously said.

Shizuo looked back in surprise. He had been expecting to pay charges.

"Ah, if you say so."

"Let's go Shizu-chan."

Shizuo followed Izaya, letting out a quiet huff when the raven insisted on clinging onto his arm.

* * *

><p>"Look, Shizu-chan! A ghost!" Izaya laughed, nudging the woman that popped up next to them in the cramped hallway.<p>

"So it is," Shziuo calmly noted.

"It's a fake though," Izaya poked the head. He dragged the unnecessarily long (around thigh-length) wig off the woman.

"It's a skeleton inside! Ahahaha. That scared me," he said unconvincingly. He sounded way too happy for someone who got scared.

Shizuo snorted.

"Hey, Shizu-chan!" The informant turned around with the untidy wig over his head, attempting to smooth it over. It dwarfed over his small form, coming down to the middle of his thighs.

"How do I look with long hair?" he asked, grinning.

"Hnh. Flea, stop fooling around. That's the property of the park. You shouldn't take it," the blond chided. Even though he was the one who destroyed the property of the park.

Izaya whined as Shizuo lifted the black wig off his head. "That doesn't answer my question, Shizu-chan!"

Shizuo ignored him, placing the wig on top of the skull and smoothing it. The other man glared at the still figure.

_Why did _it_ get special treatment from Shizu-chan? _

Shiuzo frowned. "You know, women shouldn't have such long hair. Or if they do, they shouldn't just leave it like this. It's a nuisance to them and others. Aren't they supposed to take great care of it and make it really smooth or something?"

"If it's that long, it's bound to have tangles," Izaya commented.

They both studied the hair with great intensity.

"Oi, louse. Give me your switchblade," Shizuo held out a hand for the blade.

"And what makes you think I carry it around with me all the time? I might've left it at home. This _is _a date, after all," the owner rebutted.

The former bartender sighed. "I know you have it, Izaya."

Izaya huffed.

"Fine, here. You better not break it," he warned, handing over the weapon.

"Thanks." Shizuo proceeded to handle the wig, smoothing it over and over in his hands.

Izaya scowled. Why did the brute want his switchblade? It's not like he's doing anything with it! No, he was just… patting down the stupid skeleton's hair.

The informant of Shinjuku raised a brow as Shizuo grasped the hair and… sliced it off.

"There," the impromptu hairdresser said, looking back satisfyingly at his work. "I bet it's much lighter for it now."

He handed the blade back to its owner.

The silence was interrupted by the sudden laughter of Izaya.

"Ahahaha! Shizu-chan's such a weirdo," he snickered.

His laughter was stopped abruptly when Shizuo glanced over and gently tugged a smooth strand of hair from his head.

"Besides, you look much better with short hair," Shizuo nodded to himself as if to confirm the statement.

Izaya blinked at the sentence.

"Oi, flea. Let's go."

_Interesting. Shizu-chan's different today… well, as long as he doesn't bore me, I want him. Don't ever bore me, Shizu-chan._

"Ne, Shizu-chan. You're being mean today, you know?"

"Huh? How am I mean today?"

"You pulled my hair, you know! You shouldn't pull a girl's hair!"

"Tch. That wasn't a pull. You're no girl. You're flea."

"That's also mean, Shizu-chan! You're calling your girlfriend a flea! You should call me something else. Like… like… honey or darling."

"Hm?" Shizuo wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Flea's flea."

Izaya chuckled.

* * *

><p>"You feel that?" Shizuo stopped on the stairs.<p>

Izaya glanced up from where he hung on the blond's arm.

"Feel what?"

"The cold hands. There are cold hands inside my pants, grasping my ankles," Shizuo glanced down to the rickety staircase.

"Oh, really? What are they doing?" Izaya raised an eyebrow. He felt it too, though on the outside because his pants were tighter and it was harder for the hands to sneak in.

The monster of Ikebukuro frowned.

"Almost like… they're rubbing my ankles…," he trailed off.

Izaya stepped away from his date, almost stomping on a hand that crept out from the giant cracks. His eyes narrowed.

"Shizu-chan, I think it maybe because people are trapped underneath. Maybe they fell down the cracks. They might be calling for help," Izaya suggested. "I think you should lift up the floorboards and try to help them."

"Don't be ridiculous, louse. It's obviously the people to work here. They're here to scare us."

The man continued down the staircase, heedless of the other who stood on the same step.

"Oi, flea. Let's go. I think the exit's up ahead, you know," Shizuo turned back.

Izaya frowned, pitching forward before grasping onto the railing.

"Shizu-chan, I think I got stuck. There's a hand holding me down," the raven-haired whined.

"Huh? Just keep walking," the blond advised.

"Can't. Looks like the guy want to keep me here."

The former bartender smirked.

"Then they can keep you here, flea. I'll be rid of you, then."

He started walking ahead.

"Hey! You can't do that to your date!" Izaya called out, still not moving from the spot. "Besides, Shizu-chan, have you forgotten our deal? I can just tape my mouth shut and get everyone else – you know I have my ways to get them, even when chained up in a cave on the most remote island in the Bermuda Triangle - who knows the _slightest_ information about Celty. You won't even get aninkling of information."

Shizuo abruptly stopped, glaring up to his rival.

"Fine, I won't leave you here. Damn it."

"Ahahaha."

Shizuo walked back up, peering down at the big crack in which Izaya's foot was in.

"I don't see any hand holding you."

"There is! Shizu-chan's eyesight just sucks," the other stuck out his tongue. "Just lift the floorboard or something. I'll get out that way."

_Break it._

"Idiot." Shizuo bend down to lift the board. After a little pull, the already rotting board came off with a crack.

This time, a woman looked up with wide terror-filled eyes. Shizuo frowned when he saw that her hand wasn't holding Izaya's foot.

Did the flea lie?

"Um… um…," she stammered.

"Oi, flea, let's go," Shizuo gave the other a little push and Izaya stumbled down a little. "Here, I'll try to fix this."

The woman crouched and he pushed down the board into the space again.

It snapped.

They both looked at the rotting pieces, the splinters showering down into the empty space.

"Ah Shizu-chan. You keep destroying things with your monstrous strength," Izaya snickered behind him.

"Shut up." He looked down.

"Maybe if I do this…" He tried gently placing down the pieces… and watched in dismay as they tumbled down into the narrow space.

"Maybe you can pick it up… and…," he feebly suggested.

The woman smiled weakly.

"It's kind of crowded here…," she gestured around here. When Shizuo peered through the space, he could see a person behind her and another in front. He suspected that the empty space in the staircase was packed with people who grabbed the visitors with cold hands.

Shizuo stood up and moved a few feet away to make space for Izaya, who approached them from 3 steps down.

Izaya looked down on woman with eyes filled with contempt.

"Looks like you can't do your job, anymore… Aoi Sasaki, was it?"

The woman, Aoi, looked at him with wide eyes. She swallowed thickly.

"How… how…"

Shizuo glanced up as a shriek sounded throughout the smog-filled area.

"If I remember correctly, you already have a husband," Izaya leaned down to as if to conspiringly whisper to her. "I don't think you should be rubbing other people's boyfriend's ankles, ne? What would husband say if he found out that you're preying on younger men? And, of course, about the fact that you've been seeing your boss for… 2 years, was it?"

Shizuo glanced down, frowning as Izaya whispered something to the defenseless woman. Her mouth dropped… in horror?

"Oi, flea. Do you know her? Or are you using your information to threaten her?" the blond asked, suspicious of his date. What the hell was the other man doing?

Izaya glanced up, a smirk on his face.

"Why would you assume that, dear protozoan? That hurts my feelings you know," he tilted his head in an attempt to look innocent.

"I don't think you're giving advice on how to fix floorboards to her," the monster of Ikebukuro retorted.

"I know many things. I _could_ be giving her advice," the informant stood.

"Well, the board can't be fixed. Quite a shame since it'll ruin the attraction and all of this hard work will be lost because of _one_ loose stair," he continued, eyes gleaming down to the female.

"Ah, well, sorry. I ruined your trap. You'll just have to direct the other visitors over the gap, I guess," Shizuo scratched the back of his head in apology.

"It's… it's fine. You can just go on," the woman nervously glanced at the man with red-eyes.

"See? It's fine. Let's go Shizu-chan," Izaya moved down the stairs.

Shizuo stepped over the huge gap, frowning.

"Seriously, louse. What did you say to her?"

"Oh, nothing. Just that she had a lovely husband."

"So you do know her?"

"Something like that."

* * *

><p>Shizuo sighed in relief as the sign for the exit neared. He was sick and tired of the fog that obscured his vision and the annoying staff that kept popping up in an attempt to scare them.<p>

"Oi, you don't have to stick so close to me anymore. You're not even scared anyway," Shizuo nudged away the other.

"You're so mean! I was scared the whole time!" Izaya protested, disentangling himself from the monster of Ikebukuro.

_Of course I wasn't. Nothing scares me… except maybe losin – no – nothing can scare me._

"Tch, didn't hear you scream once," Shizuo pointed out the flaw.

"Speechless terror," the other waved his hand flippantly.

The blond suddenly stopped. "We were supposed to use our tickets to get into the house. We used the window…"

The informant of Shinjuku let out a laugh. "Shizu-chan's such a stickler for rules. You can just rip part of the ticket by yourself. It'll be like we used our tickets anyways."

"I can't just rip off part of the ticket. The employees of the park are supposed to do it," Shizuo insisted.

"Doesn't really matter," the other shrugged. "They're not here, are they? Just rip it. I don't really want to come back here. The house wasn't even scary."

Shizu-chan got worked up about the most irrelevant things.

"Told you you weren't scared," the debt collector grinned. He ripped part of the tickets in his hands.

"Oh, we have a law-breaker here, everyone," Izaya raised an eyebrow.

What was with the brute? Saying one thing and then doing the opposite the next minute.

"Let's go, flea. We have about…," Shizuo tried to count the number of rides left on the tickets. "A lot of rides to finish and it's almost lunchtime."

"We should get lunch at a proper place, not just instant ramen."

The blond growled. He did _not_ eat instant ramen all the time.

* * *

><p><em>So another scene done! Shizuo keeps destroying public property. Or maybe it's private property, depending on the owner of the park. <em>

_And Izaya got jealous. I tried to write it like that. Maybe it didn't come out like that. I'm trying to get back into the kind of creepy Izaya that I had in the first few chapters because I realized he's just been playful and kind of carefree in the later chapters. _

_I don't think Shizuo can be bribed to tolerate all of Izaya's clinging-ness with a hot dog... I liked the scene with the skeleton woman and the wig... I'm rambling here. _

_Anyway, I'm going to ask for some help here. It's been years since I went to an amusement park and while there are some scenes I have planned, I need more rides. If you guys could just tell me what rides there are (usually in an amusement park) or rides that you want Shizuo and Izaya to be on, I'll be happy to write them. Obviously, the main rides of the amusement park are going to be there (roller coaster, haunted house). _

_Aoi Sasaki is an OC I made up on the spot just for Izaya to have a name to threaten the woman with. Don't bother going to DRRR! Wikia to search for her. _

_I think that's all I wanted to say. _

_Thanks for reading and hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to give me suggestions about the rides. (and if you have any ideas for later dates, feel free to give me that too. I only have a few planned out... obviously I started the story sort of half assed.)_

_New Note: _

__I updated this again because ZS Fan (previously YB Fan) has pointed out that our stories were really similar. As in I unintentionally sort of copied her story. I'm so ashamed right now. I'm going to change a few things starting from Chapter 11 because the similarities starts there. __

__Honestly, I have to thank her because I went back and changed the Kasuka blackmail idea and the change got me thinking and I added a few more stuff into the plot (in my head). And I can re-write the Izaya in here because he's too cheerful (like the Izaya in ZS Fan's story) and I actually do like the whole twisted thing better. __

__So, um, for the old readers, go back to Chapter 11. Things have changed...__

__New readers who just found this fic, just ignore this. Oh! And this chapter is also similar to the haunted house scene in ZS Fan's story. Except for the last part. I'll change this chapter later since Izaya's going to be different (hopefully). Go and throw your reviews at her. The story's called 'Top of the World'.__

__I don't even know if what I said made sense...__


	16. Chapter 16

Izaya reached for the sky, blinking against the sudden harsh glare of the sun. Beside him, Shizuo shaded his eyes, not used to all the bright light of the day. He seriously wished for a pair of spectacles for his sensitive eyes.

"Ah, it's so hot right now," Izaya commented.

"That's because you just came out of the haunted house and they set the air conditioners down to freezing," Shizuo seemed to enjoy the warmth that the sunny day gave off.

"True, but it's going to get hotter. It is almost summer, you know. Besides global warming and all. Maybe we should lose our jackets," Izaya suggested.

Shizuo made a non-committal sound.

"Quit your whining."

"I wasn't whining! I was just stating the facts," Izaya frowned. Izaya Orihara does not whine.

"Take off your jacket if you want. Just tie it around your waist or something," the blond turned to look at their surroundings. Where were they?

He winced when sunlight bounced off rides nearby straight into his eyes.

The informant drew back the other's attention. "I'm not tying it around my waist; it's too hot and it'll be suffocating. Hold it for me, Shizu-chan."

The former bartender felt his eye tick.

"No way. I'm not a coat hanger."

Izaya smirked.

"But you know, it's a nice to do. Especially if you're on a date."

"No way. Suffocate or have a heat stroke if you want. I'm not holding that for you."

"You –"

"If it's so hot, why don't we go on that?" Shizuo offered, pointing to a ride in the distance.

The raven raised a brow. A water ride?

"It might cool us down and I don't think we'll get too wet."

The gears in Izaya's mind started turning. A water ride means that they get wet. Wet people meant wet clothes. Shizu-chan's shirt was white, which means that it can be easily seen through, especially since the man was big and the shirt was form fitting.

And Shizu-chan had that lovely scar made by him right in the middle of his chest. It would definitely show through.

_Let's show the world who you belong to, ne? _

"Okay."

Shizuo was instantly suspicious seeing that Izaya agreed instantly.

"What are you planning, flea?"

The other shrugged.

"Who knows? Maybe I'm planning on pushing you out of the car when we get to the top," he gave a lopsided grin.

"Tch. Like you could. I'd just drag you down with me," Shizuo paused. "Besides, they have seat belts for that."

"Hmm. Are you saying that we die together, Shizu-chan?"

The blond stilled.

"Isn't it obvious we're going to die by each other hands? If I take you down with me, I'll be helping the world get rid of you."

There was a silence as Izaya scrutinized the superhuman.

_Interesting idea._

"Ahaha. You're funny. Let's just go, Shizu-chan."

The pair headed towards the water rollercoaster.

* * *

><p>"We should take off our jackets. It'll be easier to make sure if it's our belongings and we can have a dry place to keep our things in," Izaya recommended, already taking off the outer layer and much to his dismay, placed his phone in one of the baskets offered to keep the visitor's possessions.<p>

"Whatever you say," Shizuo replied, doing the same.

"Whatever _I_ say? What if I said 'Jump off a building' – no that wouldn't be enough to kill a monster like you – 'Fatally stab yourself multiple times and shoot yourself in the head'? Would you follow out my orders?" Izaya asked lightly.

"Of course it'll be stabbing with you," Shizuo let out a quiet snort. "I'd do it _to_ you, if that's what you mean."

"That's totally not what I mean. Stupid Shizu-chan," the informant climbed into the inner seat, strapping himself in.

"That's the _only_ thing I would do for you, louse," Shizuo did the same, adjusting to fit his large frame into the space.

"Not true. You here for me, aren't you?"

Shizuo didn't deem it with a response, partly because the car was already moving and rocketing up, the other's words lost in between the screams of other passengers and the wind but also because there _was_ no response. At least not now. Not yet.

He could say that he was here for Celty but while that was party true it also wasn't. There were other ways to obtain information.

Maybe Shizuo wanted to do things differently for once; do things peacefully.

They went up, the wind pushing against their faces. The blonde missed his shades. He wasn't used to having the wind against his face all the time.

_'They would've been handy right now'_, he thought, leisurely closing his eyes and waiting for the drop.

It was honestly a boring ride, but if it was going to get the flea to shut up...

"Oh, look at the view, Shizu-chan."

Or not.

Shizuo begrudgingly opened his eyes. The car sat on the edge of the tracks, tilting precariously as it built up suspense. With the front row seats, the super-strength possessing blond could look down and see the tracks that they were going to travel down, cutting into the water which will splash up to them.

He turned his attention to the front view, squinting against the cold wind that blew in the altitude. There was many rides that were visible, people looking like small ants down below.

_'It'd probably be prettier during nighttime,'_ Shizuo aimlessly thought.

_Do you like the view, Shizu-chan? We can have this every day, you know. We can go even higher if you want. _

Izaya frowned when he realized that they weren't alone up here. The car tilted, and the familiar feeling of the stomach dropping that he frequented when using parkour in the city came. The screams of terror and joy pierced the air.

However, the informant was thinking about the new information.

_Hmm. I suppose we could just kick them off, ne? We'll be the only ones then. _

Shizuo also had more things to worry about. He closed his eyes against the wind in annoyance, not paying attention the feeling of falling.

Was everyday usually always like today? Or was it just unnecessarily windier than usual?

From the start of the day, Shizuo knew that he was going to miss his cigarettes. He'd been planning to sneak one after lunch He never thought that he'd miss his spectacles. He might have to waste some money to buy a new pair today. The blond didn't know if his eyes could stand it anymore; it was worse since they've been running around on high places and falling like the current ride.

His eyes felt dehydrated. He really liked the blue tint of the shades too.

The steep tracks evened out, and though the water splashed onto them, it was more of a gentle spray. Their faces were wet but any part that was under the shoulders were mostly dry.

"That was… refreshing," Izaya said, unbuckling his seat belt.

_Yes, very refreshing. Refreshing to have you up there with me, Shizu-chan. Come with me. Stay. _

"Hnh," Shizuo walked out of the car, heading to their belongings. He carefully wiped droplets of water from himself off, hoping that the water was clean.

They walked out in silence.

"You know, that was the first ride that you actually waited in line for. Protozoan. Always single-mindedly rushing into everything," Izaya idly pointed out.

His mind wandered. The ride was quite useless, and despite his earlier claim, provided no coolness against the almost summer heat.

_'…or maybe not really useless at all_,' Izaya thought glancing to his left. It would provide the base line to persuade his one and only brute.

"Shizu-chan, let's go on that ride."

"What?" Shizuo replied irritably. "Why can't we get lunch first?"

"Tsk, tsk. You want me to go through the whole day with this insufferable heat? The ride's a couple water ride and hopefully it'll work better than the horrible ride back there. Honestly, your choices are terrible," Izaya said, already moving the direction of the ride.

(He ignored the fact that the terrible choices also included him since Shizuo chose to go with him today.)

"I thought you enjoyed it. You said so," the blonde frowned, following the smaller.

Izaya let out a laugh.

"What was fun about that ride? Don't deny it, Shizu-chan. I can see it in your eyes; it was totally boring, wasn't it? Compared to what we do, that was… child play – no not even child play," he paused to think of the right phrase.

"…I thought the falling part was fun," Shizuo tried to defend his first pick of rides.

"If you fell from a hundred meter skyscraper, that would be fun. However, I could see that during the entire ride, you had your eyes closed, not because you were scared, but rather because something was troubling you. Now, the question was, what is it?"

_It's not fair._

"Tch. I'm not worried. Why did you pick this ride anyway?" the former bartender changed the topic, already standing in line.

"So suspicious all the time, Shizu-chan," the raven-haired crooned.

_It should just be me._

"I have a right to be. Who knows what's going in that big head of yours?"

"Don't worry about this one. We didn't enjoy the water back there. Here, we'll get more excitement."

"Tch. I'll kill you if you plan anything else."

"That's my Shizu-chan."

_Mine._

* * *

><p>"Why the hell is it a couple ride?" Shizuo muttered, strapping himself into the circular boat.<p>

"I suppose they don't have an actual Tunnel of Love ride and quite possibly converted this to be a couple ride in compensation," Izaya babbled nonsense. He really didn't care if the park had a Tunnel of Love or not; the fact was that this ride was here and it was perfect to be alone with his protozoan.

"Besides, isn't it better for other people? They don't have to suffer the presence of a harebrained protozoan like you."

The boat started down its path, gently rocking back and forth, slowing gaining speed.

"The only presence they shouldn't suffer is of a smelly manipulative louse bastard like you," the blond shot back. "I swear, if you plan on –"

"You shouldn't worry so much. It's not like I can just murder you here, you know. There's water down there and your monster blood would contaminate it."

_Not that it wouldn't look pretty though. You hanging halfway out, hair slightly wet as you bleed into the water and staining it a lovely crimson... it would be simply spectacular. _

Water splashed onto them from a nearby rapid. Izaya wiped his face before continuing.

"Besides, I would definitely get into trouble. Use some logic. After all, we're the only ones on this boat and if you were dead, any 5 year old could figure out that I was the culprit."

"So you would kill me if you get the chance and we weren't on a water ride?" Shizuo raised an eyebrow.

The boat rocked from side to side, water splashing up to soak their trousers.

"I didn't say that," Izaya unbuckled his seat belt and stretched his legs. "Shizu-chan's interesting so I won't kill you yet. Besides, you're my entertainment for today. You shouldn't be talking though. Isn't both of our goals to kill each other?"

"No, not really," Shizuo replied also taking off his seat belt. If the flea wasn't going to be restrained, why should he? Besides, it would be easier for him to retaliate if the other decided to attack him. You never knew with the bastard.

"It's not?" the informant asked, mildly surprised. By now, the boat was rocking harshly, spinning round and round on its course.

"Not really. _My_ goal, yeah. I'll kill you if you annoy me. Your goal, however, isn't that. You purposely annoy me and get reactions for your own amusement. And of course, who knows what plans you have right now," the former bartender lazily shifted his position so that the sudden turn didn't threw him off balance.

Izaya glanced over. Shizuo's shirt was not as wet as he'd like. You could barely see the scar.

"Oh? How would you know if my goal's really is that?" Izaya stood up, balancing himself near the edge of the boat against the rocky currents with ease. "My goals could be something else entirely different."

The blond shrugged, glancing up as they passed a huge gorilla statue.

"Everyone has different goals. Our goals against each other, though; I imagine that it'd be something like this."

"My, my. So you think you know me?"

"Wasn't there a quote? Know thy enemy?"

"I'm touched, Shizu-chan. Careful, I might start thinking that you actually cared about me."

"I would never care about you. I could just push you off right now, just like this," Shizuo reached over the space to gently nudge against the smaller. Very lightly but not light enough.

Izaya, already unstable because of the rough currents below, grabbed the offending hand to stabilize himself.

Shizuo, not expecting the move, also lost his balance as the boat swirled around, caught up in the circular motion of a nearby whirlpool. They ended up hitting the water; Izaya hitting it full force with his back while Shizuo somehow managed to avoid collision and dived in headfirst a little to the right of his date.

The pair came up spluttering, watching in dismay as the floating craft strayed away from them, continuing its course.

The informant splashed water onto the blond's face with some difficulty as the currents pushed against him.

"Thanks, Shizu-chan. Are you trying to make us both sick?"

Shizuo ignored him and started swimming to shore. Luckily, the area was pretty small and it wasn't hard for the monster of Ikebukuro to get to the sides.

Izaya, however was another matter. He, too, started swimming to shore like Shizuo but was pushed back by the swirling currents. The smaller was pushed around roughly and it was a miracle that he wasn't getting washed away downstream.

"Shizu-chan!" he shouted up to the taller, treading water at a calmer spot.

"What, louse?" the honey-eyed man paused in his task of lifting himself out of the water and glanced back.

"Come get me! I can't swim!" the raven-haired gestured for the other to come closer.

"Tch. Liar. You can obviously swim. See? You're not drowning."

"I didn't mean that I can't swim. I meant that I can't swim against these currents. Not all of us are monsters like you, Shizu-chan," the russet-eyed man rolled his eyes.

"And why should I come get you?" Shizuo asked from his comfortable spot on the shore.

"You know, the ride started with two people in the boat. Even if you managed to get back, the others would still be wondering what happened to the other. And of course, if they find me drowning here, what would that say about you?" Izaya paused. "Like I said, a 5 year old could figure out who was the culprit just by deduction. If you die now, I'll be in trouble. If I die now, _you'll_ be in trouble. It works both ways."

Izaya somehow managed to shrug in the midst of treading water and holding his ground against the rapid currents.

Shizuo bit his lip as he thought. What the flea said made a lot sense. The idiot could die of something stupid like hypothermia. That would be unacceptable.

Shizuo wanted to kill the other with his bare hands.

_'Think of it as a game show. You survive the day with him, you get invaluable information about Celty,' _the former bartender consoled himself.

"Well?"

"All right, all right. I'm coming," the bigger grumbled as he slid back into the water, this time swimming towards the lithe figure.

Izaya hoisted himself onto Shizuo's back when he came.

"Now, onwards my steed. To infinity and beyond!" Izaya giggled.

"What the fuck are you saying?" the blond tried to loosen the other's tight grip around him. "Whatever. Just shut up."

He started swimming back without much difficulty, even though he was carry another person on his back, limiting his actions in the water. Reaching the other side, he hoisted himself, and the man on his back, up,

Once on land, he unceremoniously threw his date onto the grass.

"You can get off now."

"Thanks," Izaya groaned from below. "You're such a brute all the time."

Shizuo briefly nudged him with his toe.

"Ow!" the raven-haired curled in around his ribs. "You don't have to kick me. I would've gotten up by myself."

The taller man frowned. "I didn't kick you."

"You should know your own strength, stupid barbarian."

The other ignored the smaller, who was now sitting up.

"Now, where do we go?"

"We follow the river downstream. If we move fast enough, we can catch up with the boat and no one has to know about this incident. Of course, we'll be racing against time. The ride lasts for… I'd say about 3 or 4 or minutes and we were on it for about a mintue. We have 2 minutes if we want to catch up before the finish line," Izaya advised.

"We just have to move fast enough right?" Shizuo cracked his knuckles, preparing the fastest route to outrace the rapid moving craft that was long gone out of sight.

"I hope you know that you can't punch out the toys here. We'll have to pay for the damage," Izaya warned.

_Though that doesn't really matter since you've already destroyed a lot of property already. _

"I know that!" Shizuo snapped. "Just shut the hell up before I throw you in the water again."

Izaya hummed good-naturedly, attempting to unstick the wet shirt clinging to him and make sure that his shoes weren't wet enough to slip.

_This is great. We're totally wet now and I can just clearly see my mark on you. Were you that eager to show the whole world that you're mine? _

Shizuo rolled up his sleeves and unbuttoned the first few buttons to make his shirt looser.

"Let's go," he said, already jogging ahead.

"Running away?" Izaya grinned as he caught up with the man. "By the way Shizu-chan, you look great in that shirt."

Shizuo briefly gave him an odd look before ducking under an incoming branch.

* * *

><p>"I told you we can't destroy property," Izaya sing-songed mockingly at the blond.<p>

"Look, we can just put this back up," Shizuo defended himself. He attempted to slide the upper part of the elephant back onto the bottom part.

"You half-baked idiot. That wouldn't work. The stupid thing's broken diagonally. It's just going to slide off," Izaya criticized him.

"No it's not…," the other trailed off as the piece did exactly what Izaya predicted. "Don't you have superglue or something?"

"Who carries around superglue?"

"Who carries around a switchblade?" the blond retorted.

"It's for safety issues. To protect myself from freakishly strong morons like you," Izaya sniffed.

"Look, we can just… take the whole thing out. Stash it behind some trees or something," Shizuo offered.

"Do what you want. You're the one who destroyed the elephant by attempting to vault over it and not being cautious your own strength. It wouldn't have happen if you just went under it like me."

"Who'd want to be in close quarters with you?" Shizuo retorted.

Now what? What to do? He could lift up the whole thing and put it behind. Or he could leave it and pretend that he didn't do it… The stupid wind that chilled his already icy clothes wasn't helping either.

"You figure it out," Izaya waved a hand dismissively.

_Let's see if the monster can figure out a sensible solution. _

Shizuo looked around to see if there was anything that could help him stabilize the upper part. Maybe a sap tree will miraculously appear and he could use the stickiness to glue it back on.

The blond man grinned when he saw something that might help him.

"Where're you going?" Izaya raised an eyebrow at the other who was heading a little way off.

"It'll be fine if the all the props are still here right? Different places shouldn't matter, right?" Shizuo replied, already lifting the boulder off the ground with ease.

"What are you planning to do with it? Crush me to death?" Izaya asked sarcastically.

"As much I'd love to do that, no. I wouldn't need a huge boulder to crush a miniscule flea like you," he set down the boulder next to the elephant statue.

Izaya watched as the man hoisted the broken part back with one hand, and with the other, managed to scoot in the rock so that it would hold the plastic in place. The boulder was tall enough to stabilize the piece.

"My, my," the raven clapped slowly. "Looks like even savage beasts are capable of getting to logical solutions."

"Shut the fuck up or it won't be another plastic prop that's broken," Shizuo growled.

"Oh I'm so scared," the informant mocked.

The former bartender ignored the annoying twit.

"An elephant with a boulder. Looks good enough," he nodded to himself.

"Well, as much as I'd love to admire the masterpiece, we only have… less than a minute left since you wasted so much time her. We'd have to hurry, you know," Izaya reminded the other of their task.

"Yeah, yeah. I got it."

* * *

><p>"Ah! I just saw the boat," Izaya cried, speeding up a little.<p>

Shizuo took care not to touch anything else they might fall apart.

"Where?"

"It just went into the cave though. We can either risk going into the darkness or quite possibly injure ourselves trying to follow the boat or...," Izaya trailed off.

"Or what, louse?" Shizuo demanded.

"Or we could go up there and jump down back onto the boat. Even if we miss, I think we can be fast enough to swim after it and catch onto it," the other continued.

Shizuo frowned. That was a more logical choice but then there also was the danger of slipping and falling. The structure doesn't look like it'd have a lot of footholds and their shoes were still wet. They were already at a disadvantage of having more of a risk to fall down.

Falling off the thing would be a free fall, with no branches to break the fall. If they did fall down, they could get injured. They mainly being Izaya and Shizuo would end up having to carry him.

Close contact with the prat wasn't really what he desired.

Say if they made it on top. They'd have to wait for the right time to jump and if they miss, there was no telling how deep the manmade river was. While the part they'd fallen off was luckily deep enough that they didn't immediately hit the floor when they fell, this part might not be the same depth.

Shizuo had seen the varying depths of the river during the time the pair ran along it. In some areas, there was enough depth for him to be full submerged. On others, there was barely enough depth for the water to even cover his knees.

If the other side ended up being the latter depth, and if they missed, there was a great chance that they'd get a leg injury. Or if they fell wrong, also a head injury.

On the other hand, it _was_ much faster than making their way through a dark cave trying to predict the terrain and find the boat at the same time. With their skills, and even with the disadvantage, the structure wasn't going to be much of a challenge.

And they've been chasing each other and falling for what? 8 years? Falling wasn't anything new. And Shizuo was sure that he could handle a little injury.

But then again, this was Izaya. Who knows what he'd do when they get to the top.

"Don't you have a flashlight or something?" Shizuo scratched his head in annoyance.

"No. And even if I did, it would've been ruined because of the water," Izaya replied.

"What about your switchblade? Can we use it as a source of light in the cave?"

Izaya let out a guffaw.

"Shizu-chan, this isn't some fantasy world where a knife can magically shine its 'enteral light' and give light when you need it. The cave is totally pitch black, designed so that it gives the visitors thrills."

"Then what good is that stupid knife?" the blond muttered bitterly.

"It's good for slashing you up," the other replied cheerfully. "Are we going to climb or not? The thing's pretty big and though it'll take a while for the boat to emerge on the other side, we might not make it in time if we keep chit-chatting."

"Yeah, yeah. Where do we start?"

"I'll say from… around here. This looks like a good place to start," Izaya gestured to the wall beside him. There were only a few dents here and there.

"Hnh. You go first," Shizuo gestured.

"Scared that you'll fall, Shizu-chan?"

"No, I don't trust you enough to turn my back on you. I'd rather have you go first. Plus, you're weaker and if you fall, I'll… I'll catch you so that I don't get blamed for a murder," the fortissimo of Ikebukuro reasoned.

"How touching," Izaya murmured, reaching for a handhold. He put his weight on his right foot, searching for a foothold with his left.

* * *

><p>They reached the top, looking down at the much calmer river on the other side. It would just be a while before they reached the exit.<p>

"Damn it, just how big was that thing? Took us a while," Shizuo grouched under his breath.

"Jeez Shizu-chan. Relax. Isn't the air fresher here?" Izaya raised his hands as if to proudly show off the area.

_The shirt doesn't look like it'll dry any time soon. Or the rest of the clothing for the matter… I suppose we can get new ones later. Shame…._

"Shut the hell up. Are we faster than the boat?"

"Should think so. We came up quite fast and I suspect that inside have a lot of curves and twists."

"Great. When do we jump?" Shizuo looked back from the edge.

"Depends. If you're going to just fall down, I'll say right as it comes out. If you're going to propel yourself, maybe a moment after it comes out," Izaya took a step to stand next to the bigger.

The former bartender made a non-committal noise to signal that he heard the other.

Izaya watched the man instead of watching the boat emerge.

_Shizu-chan does look good with half-wet hair and that scar showing_._ It'd suit him to have red spreading over that precious white shirt. _

The blond ignored the stares from the other, opting to stare intently down below and waiting for the chance to jump.

The boat came out slowly, riding the slow slower current with ease. Shizuo stood up, bending a little to prepare his legs.

_Hmm…_

Izaya couldn't help it. He let out a hand and gave a strong push.

Shizuo glanced up as he fell horizontally, instead of the vertical pose he had planned. Damn flea. He couldn't believe he did that. Bu then again, it was the flea. He was all about playing dirty.

'_No time to think about that,' _he reminded himself. He turned and righted himself just barely before hitting the floor of the raft hard. The boat rocked violently though it thankfully was still in one piece.

The man looked up to find the other looking down on him with those eyes. Those unfaltering eyes that were filled with something that he can't put a name to.

_'There's something very familiar about this scene,'_ Shizuo thought to himself.

He moved a little as the lithe figure landed nimbly beside him.

"What the fuck was that for, you fucking weasel?" the monster of Ikebukuro roared in the raven's face.

"You know, Shizu-chan, you almost overturned the boat with your monstrous way of jumping," Izaya ignored the other.

"I would've jumped normally but then there was a fucking flea that decided to push me off the ledge," the blond jabbed a finger against the smaller's chest.

"My bad. My hand slipped," the trickster smirked. "Besides, I thought you weren't going to turn your back on me."

Shizuo paused. Izaya settled back into his seat and strapped himself in.

"I wasn't turning my back on you," the debt collector started.

_Shizu-chan, you liar. _

"That was a fun ride, ne? We got thoroughly wet," Izaya spoke over the other. "Come sit, Shizu-chan. After all, you're supposed to enjoy the ride sitting down. Of course, a protozoan probably can't even follow a simple rule."

The blond looked at the seat patted down as an invitation with contempt before switching his gaze up to his date. Up ahead, he could hear the chatter of the visitors waiting to get in the ride.

"This discussion is not finished," Shizuo said, sitting down beside the dark-haired.

"Yes, mother," Izaya laughed.

Shizuo growled, clenching his fists. _'Don't destroy any more property. Don't punch the sneaky rat. Don't cause a scene,' _he had to remind himself.

* * *

><p><em>Another chapter finished. This was from a request. Alwaystru wanted a water ride. I gave her two because I wrote the first ride then added the second ride because I thought of the first ride first then thought of the second one later. Pretty simple logic. <em>

_Hope they were all in character. It's been a while since I've wrote them and yeah, I'm just really busy this month. It's the last month of school anyways. Then summer break. Yay. _

_The time duration of ride sucks because one, I have no sense of timing and two, I don't know how long these rides last. And I've obviously never been running through the ride like it so I don't know how long it'd take them. _

_Just to clear things up. The first ride is like a roller coaster and there's water at the bottom that splashes on you. Think I made that pretty clear. The second is one of those group rides where you sit in the circle boat and it spins around the ride and you get splashed at different intervals. Just type in 'Congo River Rapid' in Google Images. Should make it more clear. _

_It's honestly hard to make different insults for each other... never thought it'd be this hard. Even with other stories. _

_Anyway, thanks for reading and hoped you liked it!_


	17. Chapter 17

"Shut up already! I know that we're going in here. Jeez," Shizuo glowered, snatching his wrist back from the other's grip.

"Well, I have to make sure that Shizu-chan doesn't stray away. Your brain is distracted, just like a toddler's," Izaya hummed, strolling into a nearby shop, holding the door open for the other.

"Why you -," the blond gritted his teeth, clenching his fist. Just because he was a little distracted by the stupid sunlight and food didn't mean he was some toddler.

"Chill. Besides, why do you assume that I was insulting you?"

"You just called me a –"

"Toddler? Yes."

_'__Damn it, stop interrupting,' _Shizuo growled in his head.

"I'll have you know that toddlers are actually quite smart, having twice the neurons and synapses as an average adult," Izaya continued. "Of course, as you're an adult, and an amoeba at that. How does it feel to be dumber than a three year old?"

Shizuo paused to digest the random fact that the informant threw out there. He'd never known that. That was quite amazing, being able to learn new things and learning behavior patterns so quickly with that many connections. If only little him had strengthen the connections to controlling his emotions and strength.

"Are you going to come in or are you waiting for a pretty dress and a red carpet?" the raven-haired demanded, gesturing for the other to come in.

"Shut up," the honey-eyed stormed in, shivering slightly at the cold air that blasted against his wet skin.

"Ah, welcome!" the man behind the counter smiled jovially. "Looking for a T-shirts?'

"Yes," Shizuo gave a nod.

"Maybe for something for a couple?" Izaya suggested, standing way too close for his liking. Shizuo tried to discreetly nudge him off without knocking the other into various displays that surrounded them.

"Ah! You're one of those people! It's great to see kids like you every so often! Society nowadays becoming really open-minded, you know," the man rambled on, running a hand through his short grey hair. He directed them towards matching T-shirts.

"What the hell, flea? We're not getting those!" Shizuo protested but followed.

"Yes, yes we are. It'll be fine. We can find one that doesn't look so… tacky," Izaya smiled.

"Tacky or not, we're not getting couple shirts. We aren't even a couple!"

_Shizu-chan belongs to me._

"Liar, liar. Shizu-chan's such a liar. Who was the one who agreed to go on a date?"

"I didn't agree. It was a deal."

"A deal _is _an agreement. That's one of the simplest things to understand. Of course, protozoans like you wouldn't know," Izaya sniffed.

"Shut the fuck up!"

"My, my. It seems like you guys get along well," the store owner laughed. Stupid old man. Was he blind or something? There was no way that they'd get along.

"Here's the section. Take your pick. They'll all look lovely on you both!"

"Thanks, Toshio-san."

"What the hell? Are you stalking people again?" Shizuo distractedly picked up a shirt that said 'I'm with stupid' with an arrow pointing to one side. There was a matching shirt with an arrow pointing back.

"I don't _stalk_ people. I merely observe," Izaya looked through the rack of shirts. "Besides, his name's on the tag, stupid."

Shizuo turned.

"It's true," Toshio said, pointing to his tag. Shizuo turned away.

"These are so cheesy," the blond said, changing the subject.

"They're supposed to be. Do you even know how the couple world works?"

"…."

"What about this one?" On one shirt, there was a guy sitting with his back to the right side of the shirt, his wrist wrapped in red string that dragged out. On the other shirt was the same, though it was a girl and she was sitting on the left side.

"What the hell are they doing?"

"They're sitting back to back. The shirts are supposed to be worn close together."

"What about that red thing? Are they chained to the side of the shirt?"

"Chained? Yes because they chained to the side like dogs, Shizu-chan," Izaya rolled his eyes.

"They are? Why would that be on a couple shirt?"

"I was being sarcastic, dum-dum. It's the red string of fate connecting them together."

"Shouldn't that be on their pinky? Isn't that where they show it in anime and everything?"

Clap. Clap. Clap.

"That's a surprise. You actually know something of the real world, Shizu-chan."

"It's not a surprise. Something like a red string of fate is common knowledge in Japan," Shizuo frowned.

"Use some common sense though. The figures don't have fingers. It was probably too complicated for the artist to draw or it didn't look good. It looks better with the string on the wrist, doesn't it?"

"I guess. Whatever. It's still so cheesy. No way am I wearing that."

"Then, what about this one?" Izaya pointed to a random T-shirt.

"Ah, yes. That one's popular with couples nowadays," Toshio gave his input.

"What the hell's up with that red spot over there?" Shizuo pointed to the bottom right/left area of the shirt where there was a large red area.

"You join them together to make a heart. I thought you'd get the idea after the first one," the informant sighed.

"Maybe you'll understand better if I spoke in Neanderthal-ese. Red," he pointed at one area on a T-shirt. "Red." He pointed to the other. "Bam! Heart!"

"I know that! You just said it! I can understand full sentences!" the blond shouted indignantly.

"Maybe I should talk in your home language… though I'm not sure how amoebae can speak. Oh wait, they don't. I suppose monkey speech might be a good substitute?" Izaya taunted.

"Why you –," Shizuo barely managed to hold his anger down. He really didn't want Toshio to get hurt. The man survived all these years and he wasn't narrow-minded like the older generation usually were.

Despite the occasional annoying inputs supporting the flea's decision on couple shirts, he was an honest good man. Shizuo could just feel it.

"Whatever. Just keep going."

"Are you even going to pick something that you like?"

"Probably not. Hurry up, flea. I don't want to waste time in a store looking at cheesy garb."

"Picky, picky."

And so it went like that for some time, Shizuo rejecting every shirt that Izaya picked up. Toshio comfortably seated himself on a nearby chair, watching as the couple bantered and came to a near physical fight numerous times but always managed to restrain back.

"Argh! You know what? I don't care anymore. Just pick whatever you want. It's not like I'm going to wear it after today anyways," Shizuo at last screamed out in frustration.

"Why, that's mean, Shizu-chan. All right then. Since you're so incompetent to pick, I guess I'll pick for you. Let's see," Izaya started looking at the shirts left on the rack.

"Yeah, yeah."

However, it wasn't as easy as picking out a random T-shirt.

No. Izaya was _also_ picky. He needed the best type of material for the T-shirt.

"No… this is not a good type of material. This is… it doesn't say that the color won't bleed… And this doesn't look like …,"

"Oh for Pete's sake," Shizuo called out from where he wandered off to the glasses area. "Just pick _something_."

"Well then, what about this?" the dark-ahired man held up a pair of shirts. One was red with 'Shagaliciously Bitter' written in clear bold back font in the center. Another was sky blue with 'Shagaliciouly Sweet' written in white in the center.

"What the hell does 'Shagaliciously' mean?" the blond squinted at the red shirt with the clear bold black words written in the center.

"It means what it clearly says. Idiot," the russet-eyed man sneered.

"Not everyone knows freakish words like 'shagaliciously'," Shizuo shot back, inspecting a pair of spectacles.

"You've never watched Austin Powers?"

"Australia Powers?"

"Austin Powers. The word 'shagalicious' originates from that show."

"No. I've never heard of it."

"No wonder. It's an American show which 'pokes fun at the outrageous plots, rampant sexual innuendos, and one-dimensional stock characters characteristically associated with 1960s spy films, as well as the cliché of the ultra-suave male superspies'." Izaya paused. "That came directly from Wikipedia."

"Well, I've never seen or heard of it. The word looks and sound ridiculous. Pick another shirt," Shizuo quickly dismissed the pair of shirts.

"You're so picky! I don't want to! I like these shirts. They're cotton so the fabric's good. And look! It even has a sign that ensures that the color won't bleed! This is the perfect shirt for us! You can wear the 'sweet' shirt and I'll go with the 'bitter' shirt," the informant insisted.

_Bittersweet. A contradiction. _

"Besides, it doesn't necessarily look like a couple shirt unlike the other ones that look like other parts are missing. You could wear it independently. It's a win-win situation!" he continued.

_And of course, we're just shagalicious._

"Look, can't we find another shirt? Or just buy independent shirts? Or you know what, don't even bother buying another shirt. These shirts are going to dry soon enough anyways," Shizuo protested.

"Ah, you want to buy a pair of sunglasses, am I right?"

The taller turned away, scowling. "No."

"Liar. All right. I'll buy one for you. For a price that is," Izaya randomly twirled on the spot. "How about this, Shizu-chan? I'll buy you those spectacles if you agree to wear the shirt. Pick any that you want, expensive or cheap. After I buy it for you, you wear the shirt."

"I don't need you to buy me stuff. I have my own money," the blond growled.

"Ah, but you don't. You _have_ money but you don't have _enough_. Don't take me for someone like you, you half-brained protozoan. You're already thinning out your wallet for this date. _And _you still haven't paid your bills, though thankfully your rent is taken care of," Izaya pointed out.

Shizuo blinked, his mouth open. "Stalker. I knew you stalked people but to this extent? You even know whether I've paid my bills or not!"

"I'm just doing my job, nothing else. The point is, you want those glasses and yet you don't want them, am I right? It'll be a waste to just buy them for today but you also really want them."

"This wouldn't have happened if you didn't dragged me out of bed half-awake and demanded that we come here! If you knew _everything_ about me, you'd known that my eyes were sensitive!" the honey-eyed man snapped. It wasn't _his _fault and yet his poor eyes were suffering.

"Tsk, tsk. You're just shoving the blame onto someone else. In truth, you just forgot about the spectacles and left in a rush on your own. I don't see you forgetting your cigarettes in your pocket."

Shizuo bristled. Izaya was also breathing hard.

_How dare he say that I don't know anything about him? I know everything about you, Shizu-chan. All the buttons to push, your favorite food, least favorite type of transportation, the your salaries from your previous jobs, the amount of time you averagely use the brand new toaster that your brother sent you three months ago. I know _everything_, every little fact know about you. Don't underestimate me Shizu-chan._

"You know what? Forget it. Just buy the damn shirt and let's go," the stronger ran his hand through his hair and sighed.

The dark haired pursed his lips.

Toshio stepped in before the fight could go on any longer.

"So, you'll be having these shirts, yes?" he asked Izaya, who was holding the shirts.

"Ah, we'll change into these first and wear it on the go. Is that okay?"

The clerk nodded. Shizuo didn't bother with a second glance, taking off his shirt and donning the blue one, after ripping the tag off.

Izaya did the same, albeit wearing a red one. He carefully snapped off the tag.

"Shizu-chan, go wait outside and pick a shop for lunch. I'll pay for these," he shooed away the blond, following the old man back to the counter with the tags.

Shizuo left the shop without another word, distastefully picking at his new shirt.

* * *

><p>"Have you picked a shop yet? You've been staring at this map for a long time already," Izaya approached Shizuo, plastic bag crinkling in hand.<p>

The other man turned and stared at the shirt that they just bought. It was simple and weird at the same time. Worse, it just signaled to others that they were together. At least for today.

It felt repulsive to wear a similar shirt as the flea.

And seriously, what does 'shagalicious' mean?

"Let's go to this. It seems nice enough," Shizuo pointed to a spot on the map.

"Mm. Sure," Izaya shrugged.

They left in the general direction of the restaurant, the blond leading the way.

"Welcome! Table for two?" the attendant asked, glancing at their shirts.

"Yeah," Shizuo replied, glancing around the interior.

They were, however, led to a four person booth in a corner, with a street view as there weren't many people in the shop.

Shizuo slid into a window seat and Izaya followed in after setting the plastic bag on the table, even though there was so much space on the other side. Fucking flea.

"Please have a look at the menu and call us when you're ready to order," the waitress politely said before leaving to stand at a respectful distance farther away.

Shizuo scowled before jabbing the other in the ribs to nudge him away. Ever heard of personal space?

"Ow. You know, Shizu-chan, you have a mouth for a reason. You could just say move a bit," Izaya complained.

The blond ignored him in favor of flipping through the menu to find something he liked.

The informant glanced over. "Nuh uh! You're not getting ramen again, Shizu-chan. Pick something else."

"What's it to you? I'll eat whatever I want."

"It's unhealthy to just eat noodles all the time. You have to eat rice, meat and vegetables too. You can't just depend on instant noodles and milk," Izaya scolded.

"Look, you eat ootoro all the time and you don't hear me telling you about how it's just fat tuna. Now, lay off," Shizuo almost pushed the other man out of the booth.

The dark-haired sniffed at the insult to his fatty tuna. "Those are two different things. At least I eat rice and vegetables. You just live off the flavoring powder in the packets."

"Do you mind shutting up? I'm trying to decide on my order."

"Turn that page right now or I'm ordering something off the kiddie menu for you. I don't want to see you looking at ramen, do you hear me, you protozoan?"

"What are you, my mother? Just go the fuck away and go sit on the other side," Shizuo snorted.

"Can't. It's full," Izaya refused.

"Full with what?" the honey-eyed man glared.

"Full of air. Look at all the air molecules that fill up the space," the resident of Shinjuku gestured towards the other seat.

Shizuo glanced at the man. "Are you turning into Shinra? Air molecules. Really?"

"I'm only sharing you my knowledge of science seeing that you slept through most of it in high school."

"Whatever. Scooch out some more and fill the space between us with air molecules then."

"Would you like to order now?" the waitress came back before Izaya could make a retort.

"Hmm. I'll have the chicken bento set and he'll have the…," Izaya glanced over the menu once more.

"I'll have the curry and rice with pork and cheese topping," Shizuo read off the menu. He glared at the other man for even daring to try to order for him.

"What would you like to drink?'

"I'll have the mang –" Shizuo started but was cut off when he felt a blade poking his side warningly. He glanced down to see a ringed hand pointing backwards with the said blade, poised to maim him.

"I'll have the iced green tea and he'll have a coke," the dark haired smiled, slightly shifting his body obscuring the blade from the women's view.

"Okay. For today, you'll be having one chicken bento set, one curry and rice with pork and cheese topping, one iced tea with free refilling and one coke, yes?" she repeated the order.

"Yes, that would be all."

The woman left.

"What the fuck was that flea?" the blond hissed, turning onto the other. He ignored the blade that almost managed to stab him when he turned.

"It was for your own good, Shizu-chan. I'll have you know that the mango juice here sucks. It's sour and you wouldn't like it," Izaya lazily kept his switchblade back into his jacket.

"And how would you've known that? For all I know, you could be telling them to put poison in my drink!"

"Now, now. I'm flattered that you think my connections run that far to even unimportant people like the restaurant's staff – which isn't true, mind you – but I wouldn't do something boring like that. If you've properly tasted all the drinks, I can assure that you would've ordered coke too," Izaya paused, tilting his head. "Besides, did you really think that I wouldn't do my research before taking you out to the park? I know all the names of the rides, the people who operate the rides, all the staff in here, even the man who delivers the supplies to here. I know which shop the visitors like the best, which shop they dislike because of the service and which shop's the most expensive.'

"You just like to stalk everyone and everything, don't you?"

"I'm just very well informed about everything and nothing. After all, only the best for my Shizu-chan, right?"

Shizuo frowned at the sentence. There was a long pause between them.

"Do you mind sitting on the other side?" he quietly asked.

"Hmmm. Don't wanna ~"

"I-za-ya, yo – " Shizuo started.

"Your drinks are here!" the waitress came back with a tray, setting down the drinks after cushioning them with coasters.

"Ah, thank you." Izaya ignored the other man, sipping his tea.

Shizuo fumed but gave up for now. It wouldn't do to cause a scene inside a restaurant. He drank some of the fizzy coke.

_Mango juice would've been better though_.

They both lasped once again into a somewhat comfortable silence.

"Here's your food! Please enjoy and call us if you need anything," the waitress bowed politely before retreating to attendant to the other guests.

"Well, let's eat, Shizu-chan. Thank you for the food!" Izaya prayed before breaking his chopsticks and digging in.

Shizuo followed suit, taking careful bites of his hot food.

* * *

><p>Lunch went by without any more incidents.<p>

"Ah, I'm going to take a smoke," Shizuo headed off in a direction.

"Smoking's bad for your lungs, you know. If you keep it up, you might not be able to chase after me and stop me from carrying out diabolical acts that would ruin all humanity," Izaya drawled, following the blond.

"Please. Catching you is an easy thing. Like you could outrun me, even on steroids," Shizuo snorted, rummaging around for a lighter.

"Keep thinking that. I may not be able to beat you in terms of pure strength but it's not so hard to outwit you, you protozoan."

They walked a little further down and took a right turn.

"That looks like a good spot to just sit around." Izaya pointed towards a bench on looking the merry-go-round.

The monster of Ikebukuro made a non-committal noise. They sat down, legs slightly touching. Shizuo lit up his cigarette and sighed contently.

He had been waiting for this moment the whole day.

"Interesting, ne?"

"What's interesting?"

"The merry-go-round. Look at all the kids on it. They're so happy to go around whirling on a piece of painted plastic trash. It's such a simple action and yet they're so... enticed by this. Children has such simple needs, ne?" Izaya stared at the scene.

"…I guess. I never really thought about the concept of a merry-go-round."

"When children grow up, they start having more complicated needs."

"Mm."

_Goddammit. Why can't the louse just let him enjoy his smoke?_

"Simple pleasures such as this are gone in our hearts, ne?"

The honey-eyed frowned. "Why are you rambling on about this? You want to fly through the air like them? I could punch you to the moon if you want."

"My, my. Taking me to the moon already? How romantic," the dark-haired sneered.

"I'm just thinking of the mental evolution of the children. Isn't it quite amazing that they can develop such strong emotions like hatred or love?" the infamous informant of Shinjuku pouted.

"Hn. Time passes and people change. Of course their feelings would change."

_That's a lie. Mine didn't change. Even though it's been 8 years._

"Hmm. This is weird. An amoeba is giving out some sage advice. I must be hearing this wrong."

"What's wrong with me giving out advice?" Shizuo rebutted, though it was lacking his usually bite. A cigarette after a long half day did feel really good.

"Nothing. Everything. It's _you_, Shizu-chan," Izaya flippantly replied.

"And what's wrong with being me?"

Even as he said it, Shizuo felt a little hurt. He knew that everything was wrong with being him. His immense strength, his tendency to violence, and the way he lost control over everything. Everything was wrong with being him.

"_Monster_."

"Flea."

"…and to think I actually went through the trouble of buying you these," Izaya produced a plain spectacle box, which he tossed to the other man.

The fortissimo of Ikebukuro crushed his finished cigarette under his feet before opening the box to find the pair of shades he'd been looking at in the shop.

"Louse…"

"Yes?"

"I didn't fucking ask you to buy them for me!" he snapped.

"A thank you would suffice, my dear single celled organism."

"I don't need these. Go give them back to the old man and get a refund or something."

"Can't. The shop clearly had a sign that said no refunds. It's terribly rude of you to give back a gift, you know. Normal people pretend to at least like it before throwing out to the trash or something."

"Well, as you said, I'm not normal."

"Shizu-chan, Shizu-chan. We both know that you really want those to shade your eyes. You've been squinting all day, you know. If you don't stop, your face might be permanently get stuck in that squished up position."

"…."

"Come on, be reasonable. It's just for one day anyway. You've already given in to me with this date. And this is for your own good, you know," Izaya persuaded.

"Only this once. The glasses even stink of your stench," Shizuo muttered, grudgingly lifting the glasses up to his face.

"There's a good beast."

"Shut the fuck up, flea."

* * *

><p><em>Soo... hey. I'm sorry for the long wait but my brain just gets really distracted. And then there was going to be a get together with all my friends for celebrating the end of the school year but then it kept getting rescheduled because so and so doesn't want to do this and no, we can't do that etc. I got caught up in it and I didn't get around to finishing this. And then I wasted about 3 days because we went piano shopping because my dad decided 'yeah, you can have one for your birthday' and then we had to make space for it etc. It was only a digital piano though, but it's better than my old keyboard. So... basically, I had a lot of stuff and didn't get around to writing this. <em>

_This is a weird ass sort of chapter because I just really, REALLY wanted to make them wear 'shagilicious' shirts... that idea was from a manga called Yandere Kanojo... I'm just putting in random shit together in this chapter. The restaurant is based off this Japanese one called 'Yayoi'. The names of the food should approximately the same, if you ever want to see what they ate. The mango juice thing is true, though. I ordered it once and it turned out to be a different kind of mango or something and it was more sour and kind of bitter. Not really what I was expecting. _

_Toshio is a random OC. He was supposed to be more of an eccentric old man who's totally fine with homosexuals and encourages it but then he kind of got cut out. The merry-go-round scene was requested by someone... I don't remember. Sorry it turned out kind of shitty. They were supposed to have a really deep convo about children somehow liking the feeling of just going round and round but then it turned out differently. This happens a lot. A scene's supposed to turn out this way but then it just took a 180 and went through twists and curves and bam! it's totally different. And then there are hitchhikers that cling onto the bus and I get ideas for other stories..._

_Hopefully the next chapter is written better and more quickly. Also, does anyone want to Beta this? (I'm going to be amazed that you actually bothered to read this long ass note...) I try to get all the grammar mistakes out by myself but it'll be great to have another look at it for me. Just PM me or something. (Also, you might end up having to tell me how to give you the document... I have no idea really.) Just a note though, the next chapter might take a long time to finish, depending on what I end up doing. _

_It's kind of a pain to have Shizuo smoke... but I get the fact that smokers can't stand not smoking. Especially chain smokers like Shizuo. I would like him to stay healthy, at least in the fic. Not that really matters now, because smoking cigarettes right after a meal is apparently really bad for you. I heard from somewhere that when you smoke after a meal, it equals, like, ten cigarettes. _

_And the shades because I know for a fact that for someone whose eyes have stayed behind cover for a long time, they WILL squint against normal air because they're not used to it. I can't just ignore that fact after I thought of it. And I think I read somewhere that Shizuo wears shades because his eyes are sensitive to light... or maybe it's someone else and I'm getting confused. _

_All in all, sorry for the long wait. Thanks for reading and hoped you enjoyed it. _


	18. Chapter 18

_'Looks good,'_ Izaya thought as he gave another glance over his date, noting how the T-shirt hugged the blond's figure and how the newly bought shades seemed to fit perfectly on the man's face. _'Much better than that bartender outfit of his.'_

Izaya ignored the fact that he was being biased; something that he declared that he would never be towards others. At least towards humans.

But then again, Shizu-chan was a monster so this was a whole different story.

"We're getting ice cream next," the dark haired announced, shaking himself out of his thoughts.

"Huh? …ok," Shizuo agreed easily, persuaded by the thought of the icy delight that would melt on his tongue.

"What do you want? Wait, no. Let me guess. You want the… Birthday Cake. No, wait, you're going to pick the Triple Chocolate. Or is it the Icing on the Cake?" Izaya rambled on, reading out different names from the counter. Basically anything that sounded and looked sweet.

Shizuo just shot his date a funny look. "No, I'll just be taking a vanilla."

_Idiot Shizu-chan, being strange as always. I thought you liked sweets._

"You mean a Rainbow?"

"I mean a vanilla," the blond said shortly.

"It's basically the same thing."

"If it's the same thing, why are you questioning my fucking order, flea?"

"Because you didn't order it by the right name, Shizu-chan. Can't you read?" Izaya pointed out. "Can we have one Rainbow and one Bittersweet Mint? I'll take it in a cone. Shizu-chan?"

"Cone," the other grunted out. Brute.

"Here you go," the vendor girl gave them each their cones. Izaya paid for both, seeing as Shizuo had already started licking his frozen dessert.

"You're just like a child, you know. Not even bothering to wait until I've finished paying," Izaya chided.

"Shut the hell up. Let me just enjoy this without your annoying voice grating on my eardrums," Shizuo grumbled. He followed the other, more focused on tasting the dessert in his hands.

After a moment of silence, "Wanna try mine?"

_What other flavors does Shizu-chan like? Other than sweets. _

_Stop giving yourself excus – _

"Flea, didn't I tell you to shut the hell up?" the blond snapped, taking a vicious bite out of his ice cream.

"But when have I ever listened to Shizu-chan?" the informant retorted. "Come on, you know you wanna try this ~"

"No way. It sounds like it sucks."

"It's _ice cream_. I thought you love ice cream?"

"Yeah, but your's sounds like it's a block of bitter shit. Bittersweet Mint. What the hell is that? It's not ice cream if it isn't sweet."

_Shizu-chan's logic, as always. _

"It is sweet. It just have a hint of bitter dark chocolate and mint-iness in it. It's Bitter_sweet_ Mint."

"I'm not tasting that crap." The cone that Shizuo held broke. The former bartender growled in annoyance.

"Flea, look what you did!"

"What does it matter anyway? It was just the cone. You already finished your ice cream," the resident of Shinjuku shot back.

"I bought –"

"No, _I_ bought."

" – a cone because I wanted to eat it! If I didn't want to eat a cone, I'd taken the scoop in a cup!"

"It's not _my_ fault Shizu-chan's such a monster and can't control his strength. Here, you can have part of this as compensation," the other held out his own cone with the mint green scoop on top.

"No way. That's your's. You've already eaten part of it. I'm not taking your leftover crap."

"Jeez. Shizu-chan's just like a child. Throwing a temper tantrum here."

"LOUSE!" Shizuo's fist came down. The leaner man leaned back and the oncoming clenched hand took the frozen delight right out of his hands.

They both turned to stare at the broken cone in Izaya's hand and the other half was splattered all over the pavement.

"…Shizu-chan's such a brute," the dark haired man sniffed and dropped his broken cone in the trash. "I'm getting another one. If you come quietly, I'll buy you another one too."

Izaya pouted as they trudged back to the stall. It's not like he _wanted _Shizu-chan to taste his ice cream.

_You so did. You wanted an indirect kiss like a love struck high school girl who've read too many shoujo mangas. _

_No I don't!_

_Yes, you do. It doesn't matter, anyway. You've already kissed him… when he was unconscious, but that's still a kiss. _

Izaya hated himself sometimes.

* * *

><p>They ended up at the lake, mostly because Izaya wanted to watch the couples in the swan boats.<p>

It was stupid. There was nothing remotely romantic about it, really. It was tiring and you don't even get anywhere.

There _wasn't_ anywhere to go.

It was just going round and round in a lake, sitting in a too cramped boat that was ridiculously shaped like a swan.

Why swans, anyway?

All the same, Izaya wanted to go into one of those with Shizuo. It was a stupid thought. He just gave a whole bunch of reasons to _not_ go, did he not?

Izaya supposed that this was the niggling part of him that still made him human.

"Ne, Shizu-chan. After we finish the ice cream, let's go in one of those," the dark haired pointed to one of the boats passing by.

"What?" Shizuo snapped his head up, a bit of rainbow colored ice cream stained on his lips. "No way. I'm not going in that."

"Why not? It'll be fun." No, it won't. It won't be fun – rather the opposite. It'd be tiring for your leg muscles and it was a fruitless task.

_I still want to go._

"It looks like it'll be cramped. Not to mention, we'd end up falling into the water anyway because you're such a louse and I don't really want to go buy another outfit."

Izaya pouted at that. The protozoan surprisingly made a good point.

Logic won out and the informant decided to let it go. He didn't want to go on that. He needed to restrain the idiotically human part of him – and that included these ridiculous, irrelevant desires.

It's a while before they finish their treats.

* * *

><p>"Let's just go on that," Shizuo pointed at the pirate ship ride.<p>

"Why?" Izaya pursed his lips.

The blond shrugged. "We're at an amusement park. We're supposed to go on these things."

"Why that one?" the dark haired persisted.

"I don't know," the monster of Ikebukuro tilted his head. "We can pass time this way. And then the day will end sooner and our deal will be done."

_So you _do_ know._

The informant chuckled. "I thought you'd forgotten about that. Since you're a protozoan and your brain's usually distracted by everything and nothing."

"I remember," Shizuo said stiffly. It was true that he'd usually get distracted, mostly because of his violent tendencies.

But this was different. He could be useful here. He could find out about Celty's head and like hell he was going to forget about the deal.

"Alright then we'll ride the ship," Izaya agreed.

They headed towards the ride in silence, getting into line.

"Why?"

"Why what?" Shizuo grunted.

The other shrugged, leaning against a railing. "Why this ride? Why let me drag you around in this place? Why did you agree to our deal if you hate me so much? I'm _flea_, aren't I?"

The newly bespectacled man frowned. "No, you think you're a fucking god. _I_ think you're flea."

Izaya raised his eyebrow at that.

"Like I said before, it's a ride. And I won't have to hear you annoying voice if we're on a ride filled with screaming people," Shizuo started, taking off his shades and fiddling with them.

"You'd still hear it though. You have a beast's hearing," the dark haired chuckled.

The blond ignored him. "You were the one who started this deal anyway. I don't really care much for the rides, so why not just let you go around? Maybe I'll have a chance to push you over an edge or into the machinery of the machines."

"As mean as always."

"Besides, this… this is for Celty. She… she helped me so much, you know and – wait a minute, I'm not telling you this," Shizuo glared at the Shinjuku resident.

He just almost accidentally revealed his feelings and thoughts to the _flea_ of all people.

"Oh, I didn't ask. I didn't ask for your whole backstory, Shizu-chan. You're the one going rambling on about your pathetic childhood," Izaya sneered, a little put out. It would've been nice to hear a little about the blond from himself.

This was people were supposed to do on dates, right? Get to know each other, starting with their favorite colors and food then the sob story comes out. Then there's some conflict about something and they're together all lovely dove-y.

…

Oh, who was he kidding? They've already got through the whole get-to-know-you part, jumped to the part where they hate each other guts and it was progressing to whole other direction.

"You asked _why_."

"Is that _all_ your reasons?"

"Huh?"

"Is that all? Why you're here right now?" Izaya pressed on.

"Yeah? Why else would I be here, with a flea stuck to me like a thorn in my side?" Shizuo looked up to see the ship swinging from side to side.

_Like being here for me? Because you want to be?_

"Mm."

Even if he knew the answer, the informant of Shinjuku couldn't help but feel a little put out. Oh, how he hated the part of him that was human.

_These feelings should just disappear. Idiot Shizu-chan._

* * *

><p>"Why are we sitting here?"<p>

"So that I can laugh when some poor idiot in front gets oxygen deprived and faints," Izaya flatly said, sitting down next to the blond. They were the only ones at the last bench.

Shizuo gave him a flat look.

"What? It's true. With this ride, you've got to be careful about your breathing. With the rate that the ship's going, it's going to knock the wind out of you; not to mention that we're going to go higher and higher where the air pressure will be different. Only slightly but still different," the dark haired explained.

They dragged the bar down, securing themselves. Shizuo leaned against the back of the ship, where it was made to look like a cabin. He shifted around trying to get comfortable.

"Really, Shizu-chan?"

"What?" Shizuo snapped. Why was the flea so chatty _now_? He wasn't so a while back.

"The damn thing's stiff plastic. You can't just get comfortable like that. Don't underestimate hard plastic painted to look like wood."

The former bartender glared. The taller man slammed his back into the plastic, denting it, just to prove the louse wrong.

The ship started moving and there was some announcer rambling on about something. The background music was lowered in volume.

"This is really nice and comfortable," the blond announced loudly, settling into the Shizuo-shaped dent. It framed him, though only if he was in a specific position.

Izaya scowled and yelled over the music and conversations. "You can't just put a dent in it just to spite me. Who do you think is going to pay for that?" The man held onto the bar to stop himself from flying out of his seat.

Shizuo shrugged. Or attempted to but the plastic frame around him stopped him. "You're the one who provoked me. And invited me on this date. Take responsibility."

"You – whoa!" Izaya slammed back into the wall before getting lurched out over the safety bar. Almost, if his reflexes from parkour hadn't kicked in and he caught himself by hanging onto Shizuo.

The stupid thing had started moving faster.

How was the monster doing this? He was perfectly content in that plastic shell of his, not looking at least out of breath or getting slammed around like Izaya was.

Wait, never mind.

Shizu-chan was a monster. Of course he'd be fine.

It was getting harder to breathe and his head felt like it was about to burst. Why was this happening? It shouldn't be like this.

Izaya was supposed to be fine because he was _Izaya Orihara_. He unknowingly clenched his hands harder on Shizuo's shirt.

"Goddammit, flea! Let go!" the debt collector yelled over the wind, trying to detangle the white-knuckled grip from his shirt.

The russet eyed man took a deep breath as they went down, his back slamming into the plastic once again. He was going to feel that later.

"You beast! If I let go, I'll fly off!" the informant yelled, losing some of his precious air. He felt nauseous and his chest constricted. He knew how to deal with this. He just had to breathe at the right time.

Easier said than done when one was trying to stay in the damn seat, maintain a breathing pattern and simultaneously deal with an amoeba monster.

"Well, it's not _my_ fault you're so damn skinny! If you ass flies out, I'm not catching you, flea!" Shizuo bellowed back into the other's face. "Actually, I hope it does! That way, you can get away from me!"

"You bastard! Just because I'm thin and not a fat ass like you and – stop trying to knock away my knife overboard!"

"Then stop trying to stab me, louse!"

Even though the wind was pulling at their faces and hair was flying everywhere, Shizuo could clearly see the smirk that the damn flea gave him.

"But then how can I have a good anchor on Shizu-chan?" the informant tried to stick his knife into Shizuo's side.

Oh how nice it would be to see him bleed. Maybe the blood will even go flying off in arcs as they rode the ship.

It was such a shame though. They just bought a new T-shirt.

Izaya really liked that shirt on the blond.

"Don't grab at my face you rat! You'll leave your scent all over me!"

"You're such a monster! Even with the wind blowing this hard, you can still smell?"

"It's not _my_ fault you're so smelly! Maybe you should use some col – oi! You'll knock my glasses off!"

_'Hah! I knew it! You like them!' _Izaya couldn't help the feeling of triumph that blossomed in his chest.

"They should've been knocked off a long time ago! We're literally going upside down, you beast!"

"Ho, ho! Looks like things are getting rowdy at the last bench!" the announcer commented on their fight, talking loudly over the ridiculous disco music in the background.

"SHUT THE HELL UP! DO YOU WANT ME TO THROW FLEA AT YOU?!" Shizuo roared, one hand on the collar of the dark haired's shirt, the other holding his shades to his face.

"DON'T INTERRUPT! I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE AND YOUR WIFE'S MAIDEN NAME!" Izaya shouted, glaring at the man, despite the fact that he almost got thrown overboard.

There was silence from the commentator. The song changed to Hatsune Miku's 'Nyan Nyan Nyan'.

"Ookay, then. Let's go back to the front row," the man awkwardly turned to away from the two.

It was another two minutes of shouting in each other's face, Izaya trying to breathe, slamming back into the wall and trying to cling/stab to Shizuo.

* * *

><p>"Ugh," Izaya moaned as he stepped off the ride with shaky legs. Stupid protozoan. He wouldn't have this much trouble with the ride if the brute didn't swing him around so much.<p>

"Flea, you –" Shizuo started.

"Mmf!" the other took off running towards the nearest bathroom. He wasn't going to vomit in trash cans like some of the humans who just got off the rollercoaster was doing.

He'll at least get to a bathroom before losing his lunch.

Izaya was locked up in a stall when Shizuo arrived to the lavatory.

"Flea?"

"What?" snapped a voice from the only closed door.

"You – I can't believe you're hurling over something like that," the blond leaned against the sinks. The bathroom was pretty clean. For a public one, that is.

Sounds of dry retching and gasps came out. "Shut up, Shizu-chan. I haven't hurled."

"_Yet_… want me to hold your hair while you throw up?"

More dry retching.

"Shizu-chan, don't interrupt my important conversation with the toilet bowl." A dry gasp came.

The blond snorted, searching his pockets for his cigarette box. After a moment of clothes rustling, there was a click of a lighter.

"…Shizu-chan, you can't smoke in here. There's a fine on that," Izaya reminded.

"I don't tell you to stop retching in the toilet, do I? Don't worry, I closed the door and an out of order sign," Shizuo took a deep drag of his cigarette.

"It doesn't –" Gagging. "- work like that, Shizu-chan."

"Also, you're paying the fine."

"No wa – urp!" There were sounds of vomit hitting the water. Izaya groaned as his stomach muscles clenched. He shouldn't even be vomiting over something small like an amusement park ride. He had worse, after all.

It odor was pretty bad. The sight was more revolting, all lumpy with the half-digested lunch and quite possibly breakfast too. The color was repulsive, somewhere between chartreuse and peach orange.

_'Why couldn't it be something like a beautiful lapis lazul?' _Izaya thought, glaring down into the toilet bowl.

It was disgusting, him getting lowered to this standard. And it was all Shizu-chan's fault.

Getting the acidic aftertaste was going to be a pain in the ass.

Shizuo wrinkled his nose as dry gasps came from the toilet. More sounds of water splashing.

"If this is what flea's guts smell like, I might not kill you in a gruesome way. Maybe just a snap of the neck. You're thin enough anyways," he noted.

There were gasps from the other end. "Ugh, my stomach," Izaya groaned. "That's a me –"

Did the flea just vomit _again_?

"Oi, flea?" the former bartender called out.

"'m fine," came a weak reply.

"That's what you get for eating too much. The damn chicken bento was enough for 2 people. And you're a skinny prick too. Your body won't be able to handle that much food in a short time."

"It's _your_ fault for slamming me into the bar every damn time the ship moved forward."

A flush came. The informant came out with shaky legs, looking a little pale. Well, a little paler than usual.

"Shizu-chan, my body's fine. And I'm not skinny. I'm just lean and not a muscle freak," Izaya headed towards the sink, rinsing his mouth. "And put that cigarette out. I'm not paying the fine."

"You dragged me here. Take responsibility."

"Stop saying that like you're a girl I got pregnant. You're far from that, though you do have the mood swings," the informant sniffled a little and gurgled water in his throat.

"Why are you sniffling? Did vomit come out of your nose?" Shizuo took another drag of his smoke, ignoring the jibe.

The russet eyed man glared at the blond in the mirror. "How does that – umph!" The smaller clutched his stomach and leaned over the sink, chest heaving.

After some time of making sure that whatever was left in his stomach wasn't going to come out again, he looked over at his date. "How does that even work, Shizu-chan? I'm sniffling because fluid came up! It's like when you cry and you get all snotty because the fluid in your eyes got into your nasal passage!"

"Vomit can come out of your nose too, you know. There was some guy at the bar who vomited all over the floor. It came out of his nose too," the honey eyed man started. "It was all yellow and white and it went _everywhere_. There were some bits and pieces of egg and I'm pretty sure a noodle came out of his nose."

"I don't know if you're trying to make me feel better because I didn't vomit out of my nose or trying to make me feel worse by describing a graphic scene like that," Izaya pressed his hands into his eyes. "That was at your bartending job?"

"Yeah." 'The one you got me fired from' went unsaid.

Shizuo sighed, stubbing out his cigarette in the sink. "Well, can't be helped. You didn't have much to eat this morning anyways. And probably sleep deprived too."

"What? Wait, how do you know that?" Izaya looked at him with wide eyes.

_Amoeba aren't supposed to be this sharp._

"You came to me early in the morn –"

"Not that early. Normal people usually wake up around that time. It's only lazy monsters like you – "

"Would you fucking shut up?!" the blond slammed the informant into the sinks.

"Ouch. You know, you should really treat sick people a little better. Maybe wear a nurse outfit and feed me porridge." Even as he said the taunting words, the dark haired grimaced. He really hoped whatever contents left in his stomach won't come up now. That'd just be degrading.

The man shifted slightly against the cold wall. His back was going to be really sore tonight.

Shizuo let go of the other and stepped back a little. "Like I was saying, you come in the early morning babbling on. I don't know how you manage and while your body's all springy and flea-like, your eyes are tired. I can see it."

"My, my. How romantic," Izaya sneered. He changed his voice into a falsetto. "I can see it in your eyes! Oh Romeo!"

"You're too pale, no doubt because of all the time you spend on the computer. But today, you're paler. And you probably have bags under your eyes."

"How astute of you to notice my skin color. And I don't have bags under my eyes. This is flawless skin."

"You probably do. You're probably wearing that stuff that covers it," Shizuo reached over to the sink and wet his fingers. Izaya squirmed but the bigger's arms trapped him. "Stop wriggling around so much."

The blond roughly rubbed his wet fingers under the informant's eye.

"Are you trying to take my eye out, you monster?"

The debt collector ignored him in favor of staring at his fingers. He grinned. "You do! You do wear that shit that women wear! What was it called again? Congee?"

"It's concealer. And not only women wear that stuff!" Izaya snapped.

"Evidently," the former bartender drawled. "You have bags under your eyes."

"Thank you, you Captain Monster-Obvious." Izaya washed his face. The dark circles under his eyes became more prominent on both sides.

"You really are like a woman though. Slender, weak stomach _and_ uses congee."

"Concealer. And I don't have a weak stomach. I just ate too much and you swung me around like a fucking rag doll."

"Whatever. I don't give a damn about maracas or congee. You'll just one day poke your eye out with one of those things." A pause. "And that's why I told you that you should at least eat something instead of drinking tea like a lunatic."

"Maracas?" Izaya guffawed. "It's mascara, Shizu-chan."

"Damn woman."

"And what are you, my mother? I didn't know Shizu-chan cares so much about my health."

"I don't. I just don't want you vomiting all over me because you only drank tea and then ate too much when I kill you," the blond replied stiffly.

"Yeah well – hey what are you doing?! Shizu-chan?" Izaya called from his new position over the debt collector's shoulder.

"Playing nurse like you wanted. We're getting out of this shit hole and you're taking too long."

"You could at least carry me in some other way."

Shizuo paused and tilted his head. "You're right. I don't want you vomiting on my back."

Izaya smirked. So what was it going to be? Briefcase style? Piggyback? Or maybe even bridal style?

"Ehh?! Shizu-chan? What are you doing?!" the informant squirmed as he was being shifted.

"Carrying you. You remind me of a cat so I'll carry you like a cat," the honey eyed man replied, carrying the smaller by the collar of his shirt at arm's length.

"Shizu-chan! You're choking me! I can't – " the dark haired man managed to catch the other in the shin.

"Shitty flea. Just shut up."

"You know, if I'm a flea, I should probably be on you back. Piggyback?" Izaya tried to persuade his date.

"Yeah, well, I'm being nice right now, but I'm not _that_ nice."

And thus, they went out in broad daylight like a man carrying a squirming, vicious cat.

* * *

><p><em>Yay! Another chapter finished. It seems that I'm turning into 'one chapter a month' type of writers. Sigh. <em>

_But you can blame my dad for dragging the whole family on unnecessary family trips, which was mostly just the car ride anyway. If you asked me what I remember from these trips, I'd say, the car, sleeping on the car, radio music on the car and a hint of wherever we went to. Half the time, I don't even know where we're going to until I got in the car and slept for about an hour or so. But yeah, I wanted to say sorry and that I lost a lot of time on those trips. Plus, I started attending art classes and I'm taking a lot time for that too. _

_I'm back to feeling like I can't write Shizuo. I thought I got the gist of it but apparently not. He seemed too mellow. Or maybe I'm just being too fickle. Izaya is also flipping from being stabby-Izaya to cheery-Izaya like a pancake. It's like a new Shizuo and Izaya comes out when I sit down to write. I go back and look over and Shizuo was going on a rampage over a slight comment. And I come back down again and he's ignoring a much more taunting comment. I think you can actually notice the different Shizuo and Izaya and guess that I wrote a scene the next day... It's hard to make them flow. _

_And I'm sorry if any of what they're saying seems really random. The randomness of Gintama (recently got hooked) is influencing my head. Like the comment about Shizuo not wanting to come so far in life by the subway? I don't know if you got it and I know it seemed really random but it has an obscure meaning of Shizuo not wanting to gain things by criminal ways/underhanded tactics etc. _

_So, um, yeah. This chapter has a lot of bipolar Shizuo/Izaya and some random comments that doesn't really make sense or my brain was just spouting it in a desperate attempt to be funny... and I only checked (really checked) like half of this before skimming over everything else... But I hope you liked this! And feedback is always appreciated._

_Oh, and still looking for a Beta if any of you are interested. (I'm shamelessly asking here because I'm too lazy to actually go Beta hunting by myself. Plus I have too much stuff (self created, really. It's summer after all) to do.)_

_Update: I just cut this in half since it was like 3000 words chapters and then bam! An 8000 word chapter. Plus there were two rides and I'm sort of going by rides after all. _

_I __found a Beta! So yay! _

_Requests are still accepted if any of you want to put something in here. _


	19. Chapter 19

"Here," Shizuo set the other man down.

"You could at least be a bit gentler. Such a brute," Izaya rubbed his neck. He was sure that there were red lines there. "Why are we here?"

They were in front of a shop that sold various snacks and drinks. The smell of food wafting along the wind was making Izaya nauseous. His stomach was thankfully empty though.

"Didn't anyone tell you that you should drink soda or tea after throwing up? And here, I thought you were the informant," the blond drawled, gesturing to the cooler behind the stall owner. "And since tea isn't exactly common here, being an amusement park and all."

"Shizu-chan, this is _Japan_. Tea is common everywhere. We have tea_ clubs_ and _ceremonies_ for goodness sake!" the dark haired said in a disbelieving voice.

"Yeah, well…," Shizuo frowned.

The brute just wanted to buy soda, didn't he?

"You guys want something?" a gruff voice came from inside of the stall. It certainly matched the man's buff appearance, arms bulging with muscles and he himself barely fitting into the cramped space behind. He looked like he should be working as a butcher instead.

Izaya frowned and pressed his lips into a thin line. He didn't want anything like this. He didn't want the fizzy sweet drinks that were made from mostly corn syrup.

Shizuo nudged (more like slammed his elbow into the other's guts) the smaller. When he refused to speak, the blond glared.

"One Coke. In a bottle," he ordered.

Izaya scowled. He didn't want a Coke.

"Well, flea?" the former bartender asked after the should-be-butcher man set one Coke on the counter. "Pay for it."

"Shizu-chan, I didn't want a Coke." And no, Izaya was not whining here.

"Well, too bad. I don't give a damn what you want. You're drinking this for your health."

"_You_ don't trust me with a ten meter pole. What makes you think I'll trust you?" the dark haired scowled. "And it doesn't work like that. Coke is bad for your health – you should know this, its common knowledge – so therefore, I _shouldn't_ be drinking this."

"I don't give a damn about your health and diet. It helps calm the stomach so you're drinking this. Pay up."

_What's with the protozoan? Saying he doesn't care but his actions obviously say he does. Stop being so contradictory._

"Why do _I_ have to pay?"

"Because _you're_ drinking the thing. _I'm_ not so I'm not paying for it."

"Will someone just pay so I can go back to my magazine?" the storekeeper grunted.

The informant locked eyes with him. He opened his mouth and then reeled back.

"Ow! Shizu-chan! I think you put a dent in my skull," he clutched his forehead.

"I didn't flick that hard. Stop trying to threaten everyone that talk to us," Shizuo rebuked.

"I – hey! What are you doing?!" Izaya squirmed as he was caught in the other's arms.

"Shut up. You're taking too long to pay." The debt collector reached into the back pocket of the smaller's pants.

"This is sexual harassment, you know? And a robbery." The man didn't sound very bothered about being harassed or robbed.

"Like I said, you should shut up. Your voice is too annoying. I might just leave you hanging on the da – outing because of your voice," Shizuo picked out the correct amount of money. "Here's the money. Flea, take the drink."

Izaya frowned at the slight threat of leaving. He obediently reached out to grasp the cold plastic bottle. "I still don't want it, you brute."

He accepted the straw that the bigger held out.

"Whatever. Take your wallet back."

The resident of Shinjuku pocketed his wallet and took a sip of the soda. It washed down the bile and oddly calmed his stomach, despite being too fizzy and sweet for his tastes.

* * *

><p>"Shizu-chan, let's go watch," Izaya tugged at the taller's arm.<p>

"I can see it fine from here," Shizuo grounded his feet.

"Yeah, well, I'm not freakishly tall like you. You're just a monster that way," the smaller snapped.

"Simon's tall," the blond pointed out.

"But he's not a _monster_ like you. Close but not fully a beast."

"You're just jealous of my height. This is why you should drink milk." Honeyed eyes flicked over the crowd to watch the parade. Izaya stepped on the other's toes to see the procession better.

"What the fuck, flea?" Shizuo pushed the informant off.

"Well, Shizu-chan was being mean and wouldn't go to the front with me," the dark haired pouted. "The other option is carrying me on your shoulders."

"How about I throw you into the parade instead?" the blond growled.

"Meanie."

The pair elbowed their way through the crowd.

"Girls shouldn't be parading around in their underwear," Shizuo gruffly said.

"It's not underwear. It's called fashion. Besides, they're doing a Caribbean theme. Beaches mean bikini and suntans."

"There's no beach here."

"It's a _theme_, Shizu-chan. It's the idea of it," the informant of Shinjuku explained exasperatedly.

There was no angry reply from beside him. No 'I know that' or 'Shut up, you're annoying me' or even 'FLEA!'

Izaya turned. Shizuo was gone from his side.

How the fortissimo of Ikebukuro went away so swiftly and quietly, the dark haired didn't know.

_He left? Shizu-chan left me while we were going through the crowd?_

The russet eyed man stared at the space that was beside him that was just occupied by a blond monster.

_No, no. Why would he leave? We have our deal. He wouldn't do something half-assed like this._

_Why _wouldn't_ he leave? After all, he hates you. Maybe he couldn't stand being near you anymore._

_He stood beside me for over half the day, didn't he?_

_Maybe that's his limit._

_Shizu-chan's strong. He can withstand anything if he put his mind to it. That's what I hate about him._

Shizuo still hasn't come back. He hasn't come out of the crowd with a yell of 'Flea! I knew you'd get lost!' or whatever he was going to yell.

_He left you~_

_He didn't. He'll be back. This is for his precious friend after all._

_Exactly. Not for you. Maybe he saw those women and realized he really can't go on a date with you._

_What does that have to do with anything?_

_Shizu-chan's the type to overthink things sometimes. He's more traditional so it would make sense if he doesn't want to go out with a guy, much less _you.

_You're me too, you know._

_I know._

This is why Izaya hated himself sometimes. This was the part of him that still made him human. Doubting himself.

_And besides Shizu-chan's simple. He's so simple that it's frustrating. And if he was really traditional he would drink _tea_, not milk._

_Mm. He's a walking, talking, vending-machine throwing contradiction, isn't he?_

Izaya couldn't even see a blond head in the crowd. A sense of… dread, he supposed, was filling up his chest. It was the type of feeling that a child gets when they get left behind in an unknown place.

_Admit it. Even Shizu-chan messes up sometimes. He even hinted that he might leave, you know. Can't say there wasn't a warning._

_He said it _once_. I don't even know if he realized that he said it._

_He does. And it's still a warning, considering it's Shizu-chan._

_He wouldn't leave in the middle of the date. He's gone too far for this. Might as well go through with it right?_

_You don't know what he's thinking. That's why you hate him and want him, remember?_

_I remember._

How could he not?

Izaya bit his lip. Where was that idiot? Getting lost in the crowd like a five year old toddler.

"Oi, I didn't peg you for the type to be ogling at women in their underwear," Shizuo spoke up from behind him.

The dar haired turned from where he was staring aimlessly at the parade, lost in thought.

"Shizu-chan!" And no, the informant did _not_ suddenly jump at the monster's sudden appearance. "Where did you go?"

"Huh? I got bored with the show so – "

"That's a cruel thing to say. Especially when you just started watching it."

" – I went to get cotton candy," the blond waved a pale pink confection around.

_He didn't leave._

"Just like a child, getting distracted by candy."

"I didn't want to watch a bunch of women dancing around in their underwear."

_Hah, take that, you women! He didn't leave._

"And what took you so long? Cotton candy doesn't take that long to make."

_He didn't leave _me_._

"I went to buy some water since the candy floss might get stuck in my throat," the debt collector rustled the plastic bag that hung off his wrist.

Inside was a plastic water bottle.

_He didn't leave me alone._

Izaya's chest was filled with something akin to relief.

But that couldn't be it because Izaya wasn't even worried that Shizuo left, right? He was just… wondering _why_ he left. He just needed the reason of why the blond would leave.

_And make sure he never does again._

"Flea, let's go," Shizuo took a bite out of the sugar spun candy.

"Why? Don't you like the Caribbean?" the dark haired looked amused.

"This isn't the Caribbean. It's Ikebukuro with a bunch of women parading in coconut underwear," the blond argued. "We're going. I don't want to just stand here and talk to you."

"Yes, yes, you've said that many times. Doesn't seem to shut me up, does it?" the trickster followed the debt collector.

"No. You're annoying that way," Shizuo walked a little faster.

Izaya made a noncommittal sound, glancing around as they walked. His eyes lit up as he spotted the cable car.

"Ne, Shizu-chan, let's go on the cable car," he poked the other man in the side and narrowly missed his fingers getting crushed by a nimble, but strong hand.

_If I can't have the swan boats, I'll take the cable cars._

"Why? That thing's… boring," Shizuo shaded his eyes and looked up.

_Idiot, that's what the shades are for._

"Why not? Look what happened when we went on a ride of your choice," Izaya argued.

"That was your own fault. I didn't do a damn thing."

"You were the one who threw me around like you were Hulk! Actually, you are! You just need green skin and a doctor degree!"

"Well, it's not my damn fault that you were annoying and can't dodge like the flea you are," the blond shot back.

"I was almost flying off the damn ship! That was going upside down! And you expect me to stay on _and_ dodge you?" the informant cried, outraged.

"You manage all the time in the city. And you're always jumping from place to place like a flea. Hanging upside down on a moving ship should be like playing with monkey bars for you," the honey eyed man shrugged.

"Oh my, Shizu-chan, I'm flattered that you think so highly of me."

"I don't. I still think you're flea. A sneaky, sneaky flea that gets too involved in everything. I'm just pointing out that you shouldn't have trouble because your body's used to it."

"…touché."

"Wait, I have to go trash this," Shizuo held up the empty stick.

"You didn't even share the cotton candy," Izaya pouted. "I offered to share my ice cream with you."

"Shut up. I don't share with tiny, jumping gnats."

* * *

><p>"Why's the line so damn long?" the bespectacled man growled. They've been waiting in line for what? Seven minutes? Too damn long for a measly cable car in an amusement park."<p>

"We went to yours last time! And we had to wait in line too!" Izaya argued.

"Not this long! And you already picked –" Shizuo counted on his fingers, muttering under his breath.

"Oh, don't know your numbers, Shizu-chan? This is why you failed high school math," the other taunted.

"Shut the fuck up! We went to five rides already and you've picked out three of them!"

"Yeah, well, life's not fair. You should know that by now."

"Fuck this, I'm going."

_You… I thought you weren't going to leave me alone._

The informant of Shinjuku frowned and nibbled on his bottom lip.

_He's going to leave~_

"Fine. I'll get the line to be shorter, okay?"

"What?" the former bartender whipped his head around.

"I'll get it shorter okay?"

"How?"

"Magic."

The taller man furrowed his brows, confused. After a moment, he growled in realization. "Flea, if you – "

"Hush. I won't do anything… that drastic," Izaya moved to the head of the line.

"OI!" the bigger followed the lithe man. "What are you going to do?"

"Nothing." The word was said more harshly than intended.

"Lo –"

"I think you should give your spot to us." The russet eyed man was already behind the couple at the front of the line, switchblade digging into the woman's back.

"Wha –"

"And do it quietly or I might just tell your long term boyfriend – no – _fiancé_, about the little affair you had that one drunken night?"

"Wha – how did you know about that? Who the hell are you?" the woman hissed back, clutching her purse.

Shizuo stared, slightly amazed at how quiet they both were and how no one seemed to be noticing anything. To them, it would've looked like the two were acquaintances discussing something.

"Just an observer," Izaya smirked. "Now what do you say? A measly ride or your entire relationship with a loaded man."

"I don't even kn – "

"Honey? What's up?" the woman's boyfriend – wait, no. The flea said fiancé – turned.

"It's – "

The Shinjuku resident gave a slight nod to the man, eyes daring the female.

"It's nothing!"

The monster of Ikebukuro snapped out of his stupor. "Oi, flea! You can't just –" he grabbed the collar of the other man.

"No, no. It's fine. We were just leaving anyways. Come on, honey," the woman grabbed her significant other's hand and started back down the line.

"What? But I thought you wanted to ride the –"

"Well, I don't want to now. I have a fear of heights."

"What? No you don't. We just went on a roller coaster and – "

"Childhood trauma involving cable cars. I was trying to brave it and face it before our wedding."

"You never told me about that!"

"As I said, trying to brave it by myself."

The two were soon out of sight.

"FLEA,YOU –" the former bartender fisted the other's shirt.

"Next!" the operator called.

The blond froze.

"Huh? Weren't there a couple here before?"

"They decided to leave and give us their spot. Such a nice couple," the manipulator smiled. "Come on, Shizu-chan. It's our turn, now."

He somehow managed to get in the car and drag Shizuo in with him, despite the bigger still holding his collar.

They ignored the murmurs behind them.

"Whatever, not any of my business. Have a nice trip," the operator muttered.

"HEY! WAIT!"

The car was already pushed off the edge and started down its path.

"FLEA! That wasn't magic!"

"Yes, it was. It's magical how people get so frightened over a few words." The manipulator crossed his legs and set down his Coke bottle beside him on the seat.

"You can't just go threaten people in the middle of the blue like that!"

Izaya was dragged up so they were standing the middle of the car.

"You sometimes punch people out of the blue and I don't tell you off, do I? Besides, we're here, riding a cable car. We've come so far in life, haven't we, Shizu-chan?" he gestured around them in the cramped space.

"I don't want to come so far in life if we're going by the subway! I want this car turned around this instant and the couple to ride here, even if we forcibly have to drag them in," Shizuo roared.

"Aw, but Shizu-chan, didn't you hear? She's got a childhood trauma about cable cars," the dark haired pouted.

"I don't give a damn. That was you threatening her and I don't want that! I don't want any fruit of your dirty tactics."

"You don't _have_ to eat it. Or want it. You're just… holding it and becoming a little part of it, that's all."

"I-ZA-YA!"

"Shh. Not so loud. We're here undercover, you know."

"YOU –" Shizuo swung his fist blindly. The cable car shook unstably, swinging from side to side.

"You shouldn't be so rash, Shizu-chan. Enjoy the view a little," Izaya pressed himself into one corner before lurching himself to the other side to avoid the next blow. "We even have fresh air since this is an open air cable car."

"Shut the fuck up! I don't want to!" the blond took a large step towards the other. The smaller jumped up and the fist hit the bars of the car.

The car shook, swaying to one end. The bars cracked under the pressure.

"Don't be such a child. Life's like this. You sometimes have to do things you don't want to," the informant chided, standing on the opposite seat.

"Louse, shut your fucking mouth!" Another blow came, this time hitting the Coke bottle on the seat.

"Ah, my Coke," Izaya frowned from where he was holding himself up on the ceiling. The bottle flew out from between the bars, plunging down to the ground and bursting upon impact.

"Fuck," Shizuo stared down at the spot. A large brown stain covered the area. He seriously hoped that no one was injured.

"Excuse me! Could the visitors in cable car 5 stop moving so violently and stay in their seats? It's disturbing the cable line and is dangerous! We already have a casualty of one Coke bottle," came from a loudspeaker down below.

The two infamous men looked down, pausing in their squabbling to see a park administrator peering up at them.

"Yeah, Shizu-chan. You murdered my poor innocent Coke bottle. How can you even lived with the shame, you monster?"

"Shut up. You don't even like Coke." Shizuo breathed deeply, calming himself down. It was pretty hard, considering that the smell of the flea was extremely close and added fire to his fuel.

He clenched his fists.

"If you don't, you'll be asked to leave the ride immediately at the halfway stop and we may have to detain you. Thank you!"

_We haven't even agreed to stop, though._

The resident of Shinjuku turned to his date.

"Let's just sit down, shall we? We don't want to murder your water bottle this time, do we? You can kill me all you want when we get back down, ne?" Izaya smirked, comfortably settling into his dented seat.

"Tch, flea. It's not like I'm doing this for you. I don't want to traumatize the children here by killing you in a cable car," the monster of Ikebukuro growled, plopping down on the opposite side.

Restraining himself was hard. But he was doing it. All thanks to the flea.

Shizuo isn't sure how to feel about that.

"Mm. We wouldn't want another childhood trauma involving cable cars, do we?"

"I still haven't forgotten about that," the blond lit up a cigarette.

"I know, I know. You don't forget easily," the informant turned his head. "…Shizu-chan shouldn't really be polluting the fresh air here. Besides, doesn't it say 'no smoking' here, too?"

"I'll do whatever I damn want."

"Ah, that's Shizu-chan for you."

* * *

><p><em>This is just the second half of Chapter 18. I just divided into two because 18 was too long and it didn't look nice to have 3000 words chapters and then an 8000 one out of nowhere. So this looks much better. Sorry for giving you false hope and stuff. <em>

_And I'll just repeat on here. Found a Beta! And requests are still accepted if any of you want to put in some. _

_Thanks for reading and feedback is always appreciated! _


	20. Chapter 20

**20. **

"Can't catch me! I'm too fast for you, Shizu-chan!" Izaya vaulted over the stairs, feeling the brush of fingertips from the other man. He was sure the blond would've grabbed him and slammed him against the wall in anger, or in this case, against the railing.

My, what proactive behavior on display ~

"You're a fucking louse, you know that? I'm going to fucking kill you!" Shizuo roared in anger. He pulled a punch that whisked above the other's head. Barely, that is.

"That's what you always say, but you'd never catch me!" the dark haired yelled back. Izaya stopped briefly by a tree, the tangle of branches casting a slight shade over him. He looked almost forlorn.

"You'd never catch me," he repeated.

The change in expression must've been a trick of light because the damn aggravating smirk was back and the flea was running away again.

"What the fuck do you mean?! I'll catch you this time!"

The only answer he got was maniacal laughter that goaded him into picking up his speed after the lithe figure.

* * *

><p>They ended up panting in the alleyway beside the haunted house. Drops of rain fell on them, signaling the start of a possible thunderstorm. Shizuo had Izaya slammed against the wall, both struggling to catch their breaths.<p>

"Chain-smoking catching up to you now, Shizu-chan?" the raven-haired asked, arching an eyebrow.

The monster of Ikebukuro ignored the jibbing comment, opting to grin wildly. "I told you I'd catch you."

The trick of light came again and the russet eyes looked at the blond with… something that the blond couldn't place his finger on, perhaps something akin to… melancholy?

No, no. Must be something else.

"No, you won't," Izaya nibbled on his own lip. "You caught me, Shizu-chan. You didn't catch me."

"What the fuck are you trying to pull here?" Shizuo hissed into the other's face. Raindrops splattered across their faces and dotted the blond's shades. None moved to wipe the water away.

The smaller man's lips curled up into a sneer. "Nothing. You said you'd catch me. But you only caught me."

The taller took a step back, hands remained pinning the other down.

'_Think logically. Do not kill the flea. The flea has logic in that chaos. Celty's head. Don't kill the flea. Why would he use 'caught' and 'catch' in the same sentence?'_

"…is this something about past and present tense?"

The response was immediate. "Oh, I wouldn't discuss that with you. You're terrible at that stuff. PE was more of your style, right, brute?" The raven-haired paused, tilting his head. "But then you'd always try to throw equipment at my head and break the storage doors every other day."

'_DON'T FUCKING KILL THE FLEA! THE DEAL! CELTY'S HEAD!'_

"Shut the fuck up. You're only doing this to mess with my head, aren't you, flea?"

Izaya grinned. "Nope," he said, popping the 'p'. "It's the truth, Shizu-chan. You caught me but you'd never _catch_ me. Have I said anything _but_ the truth before?"

"You sit on a throne of lies," the bigger seethed.

"Now, now, Shizu-chan. I'm flattered that you think I'm fit for a throne. But don't plagiarize quotes."

"Wha – You don't deserve a throne! And I didn't fucking plagiarize!" He really wanted to fucking kill the flea.

"Uh huh. Your papers from high school are proof enough of that, I suppose. Besides, I'd say I sit on a swivel-y chair of harsh truths."

The former bartender snorted. "Harsh truths? Please."

"Of course a protozoan like you wouldn't understand, you monstrously strong plagiarizing cheat."

"I don't cheat and copy – no, _steal_ – things like you," Shizuo growled.

"Oh, please. You almost had to repeat a year. Wouldn't that be funny? Shizu-chan still stuck in school. I could go visit. Maybe even become a teacher there."

"Don't you fucking dare change the subject. _I caught you_," the blond enunciated slowly.

Izaya leaned back, sighing as one would with a particularly persistent and annoying toddler. "Yes, Shizu-chan. You caught me." He reached out to tap the spectacles – the one that _he_ bought.

Shizuo flinched back instinctively, blinking.

"But you'd _never,_ ever catch me."

And the larger would be lying if he said he didn't see his enemy's eyes flicker ever so slightly. He stared at the man through specks of water for a moment and after a pause, threw a punch.

Because the flea wasn't making any fucking _sense_.

The dark haired ducked and then darted out to the opening. The blond whirled around to see the other jumping off a closed dumpster and vaulting onto the fire escape.

He landed with a sound thump on the narrow bars of the railing. Of course he would, that bastard.

"Tell me, Shizu-_chan_," Izaya started, walking along the railing. It was probably some demented favorite hobby of his. Walking on thin rounded steel.

Shizuo growled.

"What's the difference between 'catch' and 'caught'?"

The large hands twitched. He took a deep breath. "…tenses?"

"Mm," the dark haired swiveled around, walking the other way. He raised his arms out to balance himself.

The blond wondered if he really needed it. Probably not. He also wondered how far of a jump he'd have to make so that he could push the other off and how light he'd have to land to not damage more public property.

"But tell me. Why are they _different_?"

"Because you already did one but haven't or is going to do the other. Past and present," the bespectacled man rocked on his heels. "Just like how you should've died in the past – numerous times – but you haven't yet. So you're going to _die_ in the present."

There was a brief silence. The other man's back was still turned. "I do hope you aren't going to be a teacher. Because your examples suck and you woul – no, _will_, traumatize students. Or disable them. Permanently."

"At least I'd be better than you. You're the one holding on to a shady profession, you stealing cheat."

"…have you figured it out yet?"

Shizuo frowned, perplexed.

Izaya turned, his outline highlighted by the lights outside the alley. His arms were still spread, like an angel descending from heaven, or a perhaps devil with a superior complex.

"I'll give you a hint. Why do people catch things?" he tilted his head, pausing. "Or catch people?"

The debt collector bit his lip. "You catch things because… they fall?"

The informant twisted his lips into a smile. But Shizuo had a feeling – the annoying intuitive one that usually led him to violence – that it wasn't a smile. More of a… he wouldn't say smirk. The flea's expression – especially his eyes – was too… off.

The taller was tempted to say 'sad' but the flea wasn't sad. The flea doesn't _do_ 'sad'. He was twisted, evil, annoying and basically a piece of shit but he wasn't sad.

"Precisely, Shizu-chan."

More and more rain was coming down and soon, it would pour. Hard. Their clothes were marked with water stains, their flesh cold here and there. Water dotted Shizuo's spectacles, blurring his vision.

The former bartender watched through hazy shades as Izaya wavered on the railing, letting gravity take hold as he fell off the fire escape.

The blond let his powerful legs carry him to the top of the dumpster and then to the fire escape. He landed noisily and farther down the railing, toward the other edge.

Shizuo rushed along railing, just in time to see the other somersault in the air and land safely on his feet.

"I told you you'd never catch me!" Izaya called out from below, his face wet with rain. He waved cheekily before disappearing around the corner.

"Flea!" The blond snapped as he vaulted over the railing, skidding a bit on the now wet ground and following the other. He was going to smash the louse's face into the ground if he ever caught him. Or catch him. Whatever.

* * *

><p>Shizuo glanced around for a moment before striding forward to the awaiting figure by the stalls. Izaya waited patiently by the stall, watching as the blond glided through the crowd. He tapped his fingers and hummed nonchalantly.<p>

There were a lot more people under the cover, now that the rain had started. It was rather cramped here. He would've preferred to stay outside, just the two of them.

'_Oh, a kiss in the rain, huh?'_

'_No.'_

'_Don't lie. It's unbecoming of you.'_

"Flea."

"Ah, so you found me again, Shizu-chan," the informant greeted pleasantly. He glanced out at the rain.

"I found you," Shizuo stated bluntly, staring the other down.

"Mm. Wonder how you always do since there's just so _many_ people here."

The blond blinked. "You smell."

The dark haired frowned, almost pouting. "I do not!"

"Yes, yes you do. You have… the flea smell."

Of course, Izaya knew that. It was usually something that Shizuo would yell out in one of their chases. He knew what the other meant. How could he not?

But he still couldn't help it. "My, memorizing my cologne smell?"

"No!" The former bartender scowled. "You… you have _the flea smell_. You just… I can smell it. You just have a… distinctive smell."

"Ah, so it's a beast thing," the russet-eyed nodded to himself.

"And you smell like a flea," the debt collector repeated.

"Right, stalker. Wanna play ring toss?" Izaya tilted his head to the game stall.

"_You're _the stalker."

"Takes one to know one. Now, ring toss?"

Shizuo blinked at the shiny plastic ring and the empty stands. There were others who were starting to line up at the stall, having nothing to do now that they were under the roof.

"No," he said, purely for the sake of being contradictory.

"Oh? And where would you rather go to?" the informant raised an eyebrow.

The blond glanced around, searching. "There."

"Bumper cars?"

"…yeah. Why not?"

"You don't even care, do you? If you don't even care about what we're doing, why should I follow you?"

"Fucking flea. I want to go the bumper cars. I don't want your stupid ring toss."

"Do you? Do you really want it?"

_Do you want this? Do __you want m–_

"Yes. Now let's go drive some slow ass piece of plastic."

* * *

><p>Shizuo strode out to the short line at the ride. Izaya followed, taking his place across the blond.<p>

"You know, for someone who wants something, you don't really looking like you want it."

'_But then, it could be Shizu-chan's way.'_

'_Oh, don't fucking lie. You're becoming just like the rest of them. All wrapped in your own little world with made up facts.'_

'_Hush.'_

"…I do." the blond replied shortly.

"Such a liar," the informant sighed, looking away.

'_Are you talking about yourself or Shizu-chan?'_

The former bartender scowled. "You're the liar. Fucking louse."

Izaya _had_ always hated that Shizuo spoke the truth.

* * *

><p>"<em>Bumper <em>up for the bumpiest ride of your life, better than any other that you've experienced – or should I say, _bump _into – whether it be a traffic jam with an unfortunate amount of brake usage or something else totally different that I can't think of right now," the attendant rambled.

A few people in the line chuckled.

"You get that? You guys got that, rig – " the man continued, only to be cut off.

"Oh for goodness sake, Izuki. Stop trying to make puns. Give me that," the other attendant sighed exasperatedly, wrestling the megaphone away from the other. "What we mean to say is, thank you for waiting. Would the next group of people please step up and choose a car? Thank you."

"You never let me have any fun, Hyuga," the first one pouted, opening the gate.

Izaya spared them a glance in amusement. He turned to his own partner. "Now Shizu-chan, shall we?"

Shizuo glanced over and snarled. "Huh? Who said I was going on the same car as you?"

"Oh, is it not fancy enough for you? Maybe you want a plane? A private jet?" the dark haired taunted.

"Shut the hell up. You're going in that car; I'll go on this. Good riddance to you and your smell," the former bartender pushed the informant towards another car. He settled himself into the cramped space.

"You're so mean, Shizu-chan. I thought you wanted us to go on this together?"

"Hell no."

Shizuo was already trying to figure out how he was going to get the farthest away from the other, all the while trying to avoid bumping into other cars. Why the hell would anyone create a ride to purposely get bumped into?

That didn't even fucking make sense. You take driving lessons so that you _don't _bump into crap when you're driving, but here, you're initially trying to get bumped… the blond wouldn't be surprised if the inventor turned out to be some psycho like Izaya.

The bastard would be delighted at the news of some car crash. The flea would come out in his stupidly fluffy jacket, laughing that maniacal laugh and getting the former bartender irked. Then he would twist and turn his too small (but strong) body through the crowd all the way to Shinjuku, teasing all the way.

Fucking bastard, that's what he was.

"Are you ready for the biggest spin of your life? We're here to rumble and _bump-le_! Let's al – "

"I told you not to make any more puns!" There was a brief dead silence as the first announcer got punched in the head. "What I – _we_ – mean to say is, enjoy the ride!"

The machines started and Shizuo cursed. Why the fuck did he have to pick this car again? The car was right dab-smacked in the middle of the course.

He smashed into a yellow car, before cursing because it was going to take _forever_ to go to that one reclusive corner. Another car, this one white with a blue stripe, crashed into him and the blond lurched forward.

The former bartender expletively cursed, glaring murderously at the stranger. The man visibly recoiled, before muttering 'Jeez, take a joke' and driving off. Shizuo slowly but surely made his way to the corner.

Why the fuck did he choose this ride?

"Shizu-chan!" the other crowed, as he weaved through the other cars.

Right. That bastard.

How the fuck was he coming over so quickly?

"Fucking flea! Go away!" Shizuo growled. He got to the corner first! The other should just go fuck off and find another of his own. Or better yet, go bump with the other humans that he loves so much.

The honey-eyed man hoped the dark haired would get a brain tumor from all that bumping. Or something of the sort.

"Heh. Isn't that just cruel? Inviting me here and leaving me alone?" Izaya bumped his car against the other.

"Fuck off," the debt collector repeated.

"Crude as always," the russet eyed mused, though he backed off his car a little. He glanced over at the announcers, who were currently squabbling with each other, and took off his seat belt. He stood up, leaning over his car. "You know, Shizu-chan –"

Shizuo veered his car back a little, before accelerating forward to bumping Izaya's car. The other man stumbled.

"Hey, maybe this isn't a bad idea after all. I can just bump you out of the orbit!" he sneered. He backed up and then violently crashed into the white car. "Or at least make you fall and hopefully somehow break an arm or leg. Wouldn't that be fun? Hearing your chicken legs snap like twigs?'

The other visitors' excited screams and yelps were really irritating him. And what better way to vent his anger than trying to maim the flea?

"Now that's not very nice Shiz – Woah!" Izaya pin-wheeled his arms after the monster of Ikebukuro hit him with a strong bump. He somehow managed to balance on one leg (a miracle how other people haven't noticed, but they _were_ in a dark corner at the edge, after all) before crashing forward. Right on top of Shizuo.

"GET OFF YOU F-!"

His outburst, despite the loud music in the background, made half the people turn towards them, only to see a two struggling men, one on top of the other.

"Don't be mean! Stop squirming so much! You're going to drag me around!"

"Ha! Serves you right. You deserve to be dragged off your high pedestal and then dragged some more on the ground."

"S –"

"Oi! Those as – I mean, would the visitors stay still and make sure no one is dragging anyone around. Uh, please?" the one with the glasses pushed the other with one hand and held the speaker in the other. "This is why we ask you not to remove the seat belts you bas – uh, I mean, visitors. Right. Don't remove the seat belts."

"Hey! You never give me the fun parts!" the other boy – the one who keeps trying to make puns – leaned over the music system, toning it down a little.

"Shit," Shizuo cursed, realizing they were in the middle of the attention.

"Now, be a good beast and let me climb in." Izaya settled himself in the passenger seat, already strapping the seat belt in.

"What? No! You can't just – " the blond's protests fell on deaf ears.

"Thank you for… uh righting yourselves. Right. Back to the ride."

That ended whatever spell it had on the other patrons and the awful, jingling music was back.

"Fucking shit asshat. Flea, go back to your car," the former bartender paused. "Or better yet, go die."

"Don't be such a meanie-pants, Shizu-chan. Since we're already in the same car, let's enjoy it ne?" the informant tilted his head. "I do hope you aren't going to yell 'Are we there yet?' every few minutes. I know it's hard but do try to keep your childish side in control."

"I don't – I 'm not – " the blond spluttered. "It's bumper cars!" He spat out at last. The thrilled shrieks and shrills seemed to accent his statement.

"Astute of you to notice. I'd applaud you for your observation skills but your driving skills are horrible and I need to keep in control here."

The debt collector growled. He pulled back his fist, jerking up the other's collar with his other hand. "_Flea."_

"Now, now, Shizu-chan. Not in public," Izaya reminded. The blond reluctantly released him, not wanting to make another scene like before.

The lithe man tilted his head, before smirking at something in the distance - something he could only see. Weirdo. "Not in public, Shizu-chan. Don't be lewd."

Okay, Shizuo was confused. The flea sometimes spouted nonsense like this at random times. Shizuo hated that.

"The fuck?" he finally bit out, staring at the louse.

"Nothing Shizu-chan. Let's go bump people, shall we?"

"Who the fuck said you could drive? Effing flea."

* * *

><p><em>Tada! After a long, long time of waiting, I've finished! <em>

_A huge thank you to Fumiko15 for beta-ing this and making it so much better. I got rid of typos, grammars and the sentences sound so much more fluent. So thank her! _

_And I'd like to thank all the readers, reviewers, followers and favoriters. Imagine my surprise when I went to check and there's suddenly like 60 over favs/follows! Like whoa. What happened to the 40s? _

_I don't know if you guys noticed Izuki and Hyuuga from the KnB fandom. I'm sorry. I have no idea why I put them there. Just on a whim. And I can't make puns. So I really suck at being Izuki. _

_And I'm not sure if everyone noticed but the 'You'd never catch me' is really written as that. I know it should be 'You'll never catch me' but I meant, 'Shizuo WOULD never catch me (as in when Izaya falls...)' not 'Shizuo WILL never catch me (as in when Izaya runs away as he usually does)'. Probably confusing you now. _

_But yeah. Sorry for the lateness, probably going to be as long since I'm going to work on other stories too (it's a cycle and they all take turns) but I hope you enjoyed it! Feedback is always appreciated! (I'm so not sure how long this story is going to be...)_

_Thanks for reading (and waiting)!_


	21. Chapter 21

**21. **

"Flea, remind me again why we are here?" Shizuo sighed, listening to the familiar jingle of the bathrooms. He idly wondered if the designer was some sort of freak who really wanted elevator jingles. Except they didn't have elevators here so they decided bathrooms were the next best thing.

"Because I need to pee," Izaya stated bluntly.

The blond frowned.

"It's all part of the natural cycle. Au naturel, Shizu-chan," the lithe man gestured to himself, as if he was in a commercial. "Nothing to be ashamed about."

"I know that," the debt collector snapped.

"Well, if you're really that embarrassed, you can wait outside. I know Shizu-chan gets embarrassed real easy," the informant cooed condescendingly.

"I don't!" If looks could kill, Izaya would be dead a million times over and more.

"Why am I even arguing with you about this? Since Shizu-chan's so tsun-tsun and will deny it anyways," the raven-haired pondered aloud to himself.

"Don't you need to pee?" the former bartender scowled.

'_Tsun-tsun? What the fuck was that? Fucking flea and his code words.'_

Izaya brightened up as if he had just remembered. The bastard practically skipped into the restroom. "Right, right."

"Fucking flea," the bigger said out loud as he sat down on a nearby bench.

He stared out into space before his eyes focused on the flowers in front of him. (Seriously though, who plants flowers in front of _bathrooms_? That designer had some issues going on there.)

Shizuo frowned as he surveyed the plants. Why do they seem so… familiar to him? When had he really cared about flowers?

"Shizu-chan ~"

The man's head jerked up. "What?"

"What are you looking at?" Izaya cocked his head, following the honey eyed line of sight.

"Nothing."

"Those are flowers, not 'nothing'."

"I know that, fucking flea."

"…why are you staring at them like they personally offended your ancestors? Are you trying to gain telekinesis powers by staring at _flowers_? Maybe trying to burn them because your life is that pathetic?"

"Hey, stares can kill, as high as 0.00000000000000000000000000000000675%."

"…well, that sounds like you're trying to insinuate that if you stare at me enough, I'll spontaneously combust. Or whatever your preferred method of killing me is. I'm flattered that you'll stare at me so much, Shizu-chan. Really," the raven haired gave a big show of putting his hand on his chest.

"As if," the bigger glared.

"Oooo, I think my chance of getting killed by a stare just went up to a 0.00000000000000000000000000000000676%," the informant sneered. "I'm astounded that you bothered to remember such an irrelevant fact though. It's quite a number."

"You remember random facts all the time," the former bartender frowned.

"…are you still staring at the flowers?"

Silence.

"Those are orange mocks." Was it just him or did the smaller's voice soften a little?

The bigger's eyebrows scrunched up. "They're not orange."

"No shit, Shizu-chan. Sometimes your detective skills astound me."

"So why are they called orange?"

Izaya sighed. "Do you really expect me to answer that?"

He was met with a blank stare. "You're an _informant_."

"And you're a debt collector. Glad we know each other's jobs so well."

"So _inform_ me, you shitty flea."

The dark haired frowned. "If you must know, it's because they smell like oranges. And the plants looks like a flower from an orange tree. And thus, orange mock."

He walked towards the flower bed, his hand reaching for the white petals. Izaya smiled softly, then, as if coming out of a trance, abruptly turned back. His hand fell flatly against his side.

Weirdo flea.

"You know, I'd thought your monster nose would've detected the scent. But I suppose I can't blame you. Public bathroom stink had been known to fuck up noses."

Shizuo superstitiously sniffed the air. Ew. Bathroom stench and, he consented, a tad of oranges. "How do you know so much about that?"

"No need to be suspicious. As you said, I'm an informant." The smaller paused briefly. "And as an informant, I'm obliged to find out information about why you, Shizu-chan, monster of Ikebukuro, are staring at flowers. In front of the bathroom."

The blond bit his lip and sighed before meeting the russet eyes. "They seem… familiar. Like… what was that word again?"

"Déjà vu?"

"Yeah, that one."

"…you know, orange mocks mean deceit. Odd that it should be planted here, in an amusement park of all things. Maybe the administrators are trying to subtly tell us that we're getting ripped off?" the Shinjuku resident murmured, almost tenderly.

But that can't be right. Why would _Izaya_ be… tender to a bunch of flowers?

"Deceit…, fits what we're going through today, huh?"

"Hm?"

"That's what we're doing, right? Deceiving ourselves?"

"I don't know, Shizu-chan. That really all depends on your viewpoint. People decide if they are being deceived or even if they _want_ to be deceived." Izaya grimaced. "Besides, we aren't really... dating. Just… yeah, deceiving…."

His ears definitely weren't lying this time. The flea's voice _had_ softened and there was something else this time. Something more bitter.

"How do you even know that orange – what was it again? Orange somethings – means deceit?"

"The flower language."

Now this was really familiar. Where had he heard this before? Just as he was looking at flowers? Maybe something Simon said before? He was the type to spout odd tidbits at random times.

"…they really look familiar." Shizuo stood up to take a closer look at the plants. "I've definitely seen them before. Somewhere…."

He plucked out one, holding it close to his face to study it in new light.

"You know, if you wanted flowers, you could've just asked me. I would've bought you some. No need to go ripping out roots to fulfill your feminine desires," the dark haired drawled.

The other frowned, crushing the petals in his hand. Izaya glanced at it mournfully.

"If you bought me some, that would still be rooting out plants. The florist would have to get it off _somewhere_."

"Mm, true. But I'm not the one committing the murder, am I?"

"But you were the one who asked the florist to murder some plants," Shizuo pointed out. The flowers remained niggling at the back of his mind.

"So you don't want flowers?" the russet-eyed muttered to himself.

"What?"

"I didn't say anything," the informant raised his brow like the blond was the one who was crazy. But Shizuo knew he had heard something.

"My point is," the other continued. "I'm not the one actually ripping out the plants and therefore, not actually murdering them. Why should you suffer when you have other people to do your dirty work?"

"Of course that would be your thinking, devious flea."

The bespectacled man dismissed the niggling feeling at the back of his head. He could think about it later, when there wasn't a flea to annoy him.

"Why thank you."

"That's not a fucking compliment."

* * *

><p>"You hungry?"<p>

"Awww. Is Shizu-chan's tum-tum growling?" Izaya couldn't help but tease.

"It's not growling," the blond snapped defensively. "I'm just hungry."

"Of course. It's about 4 now. It's tea time."

Shizuo let out a soft snort.

"What?" the smaller almost pouted.

"Nothing. The line – the line 'It's tea time' just reminded me of… the Queen of Hearts, was it?"

The dark haired raised an eyebrow. "Are you seriously comparing me to the Queen of Hearts? From Alice in Wonderland?"

"Well, your eyes are red," the former bartender started. "And crazy and I'm pretty sure, if you got the chance, you'd like to say 'Off with your hea – "

"Shizu-chan, just because my eyes are red doesn't mean I automatically become the Queen of Hearts. And besides, 'It's tea time' was said by Mad Hatter."

Izaya can't believe he was discussing Alice in Wonderland, of all things, with Shizu-chan. But then again, they were in an amusement park. He supposed this could be an exception.

"Ah, is that so?" Shizuo paused, tilting his head. "That matches you too. You annoyingly talk in riddles and the Hatter's always talking in riddles, right?"

"I think. I'm surprised you remember little things like this."

"Kasuka made me sit down one day and have a Disney marathon with him."

"Ah."

There was a brief silence and Izaya wondered how anyone could progress on from a topic like this. He scuffed his feet anxiously. A sudden declaration interrupts his train of thought.

"I'm getting dango."

The informant looked up barely in time to see the other push past him to the shop behind. He followed, a bit grudgingly.

Shizuo was already in a deep conversation with the woman behind the counter.

"Ah, so these bocchan dango actually contain red bean, egg yolk and matcha paste. That's rare nowadays."

"Well, I'm a bit old schooled. The an and matcha dango have their respective paste inside. The kimi dango is just flavored."

"Then I'll have… the standard set. 3 sticks and tea."

"Hot or cold?"

"Uh, cold."

Izaya sidled up to the blond. "And I'll have one."

The woman looked up, startled. "Um, hold on, please. Let me – "

"That's okay, the flea's with me," the honey-eyed waved away the woman's worries.

The shopkeeper paused, looking cross-eyed as she tried to figure out who or what this 'flea' was.

Seeing this, the dark haired repeated. "It's okay, I'm with him." He jerked his thumb towards the bigger. "And I'll have one stick. Shizu-chan's paying."

A look of sudden understanding came over the woman and she hurried to prepare their orders.

"Fuck no! Pay for yourself, bastard."

"Don't be so mean, Shizu-chan. Look, our order's ready," Izaya stated smugly. He nodded towards the woman's outstretched hand with their snacks, waiting to be paid. "Come on, don't make the lady wait. That's awfully rude."

The former bartender growled and exhaled through his nose. He dug through his pocket and all but slammed the money down. He offered a stiff smile to the woman behind the counter. "Thanks."

"See, Shizu-chan, that wasn't so bad."

"Flea!" he made a grab for Izaya's T-shirt.

"Ah-ah. No killing me today. Eat your dango, Shizu-chan. You get angry when you don't get your sweets."

Shizuo stilled and Izaya could practically see him forcing himself to calm down. Probably chanting something like _'Don't kill the flea. Don't kill the flea. It'll look really bad in front of the lady. Don't kill the flea.' _

The other shoved the treat towards him. "Here's your damn dango. I hope you choke."

"And to you too," the informant raised his stick as a toast.

The monster of Ikebukuro angrily bit into the round confection. He chewed with more force than necessary. The dark haired also ate the first dango.

As he chewed, the bean paste spilled out and the stickiness of the mochiko enveloped his teeth, staining them pink. His tongue follows to scrape the mochiko off, determined to make the crowns pearly white again.

The russet-eyed looked up when a cold plastic cup was thrust to his face.

"Here. You can have this," Shizuo said, more demanding than offering.

"And the Evil Queen offered poor little Snow White the poisonous apple. Or tea in this case."

"I'm the Evil Queen. And _you're_ Snow White?"

"Well, I do have hair as black as ebony."

"Whatever. You want this or not?"

"_I _want this? Or I have to have this?"

The other furrowed his brows as he contemplated the question. "What the fuck are you saying? I said, you can have this. It's too bitter for me and you like tea."

"Oh, you're only offering because I like tea?"

"What? You know what – "

"So it would be okay if I don't drink it?" Izaya pressed, enjoying the perplexed look of the debt collector.

"Yes," the taller snapped. "I don't even know why I offered you this. It's not like I care if you want it or not. Just thought it'd be a waste of money to throw it away so soon."

So Shizu-chan did know why he offered.

"Who said I didn't want this?" he reached for the cup. Fingers overlapped as the exchange took place.

_Isn't this where the sparks fly and you get that electrifying jolt? _He really should stop reading so many unrealistic books.

"Your fingers are cold."

Shizuo blinked and then drawled. "I wonder why."

The informant stared at the cup in his hands. He tilted it slightly. The green liquid sloshed around.

"What? If you really don't want it, throw it in the trash, flea."

There was a stretched silence and the blond began reaching for the cup when the smaller spoke. "The straw has your germs on it."

The response was immediate. "What?" The blond was stupefied.

"It has your germs on it. You would've taken a sip from it and thus your germs are going to be on it," Izaya patiently explained.

"This, coming from the guy who stole half of my milk throughout high school?" the former bartender asked incredulously.

"I'd always liked the original flavor. The strawberry was a tad too sweet for me." He took a sip of the tea. "Oh wow. It really is bitter."

"That's what I said. …are you going to eat that?" Shizuo gestured to the white dango on the stick

"Uh – "

"It's egg. You don't really like eggs, right?" the blond eyed the ball.

"No, I suppose not. How would you know?"

"You don't like egg rolls."

The raven-haired isn't surprised. With as many years as they have between them, it would be surprising if they _didn't_ know trivial things about each other.

Still, he commented. "How astute of you to notice."

"When Simon forces us to eat sushi together that many times…. Well, you learn something new every day."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, like how you only order those damn ootoro and – "

"Because they're goddamn _delicious_!" the lithe man immediately countered. The other ignored his protest.

"- how you can't hold your chopsticks properly."

"Can too!"

"No, you can't."

"I can too! More than you! It's just a different technique."

Shizuo grinned wickedly. "Sure, if you say so. Now are you going to eat that?"

"Eh."

The Shinjuku resident froze as the other man leaned forward and ate the confection right off the stick.

"And so Snow White took a bite of the poisoned apple," he remarked amusedly.

"Now _I'm _Snow White?"

"It's a reference," he waved the dango stick around flippantly. It resembled an odd magic wand. "I can't believe you ate my dango."

"Seeing as you don't like egg and aren't going to eat it, and since I paid for it, it'd be a waste of money to not eat it," the bespectacled man reasoned.

"You don't know I wasn't going to eat it," Izaya challenged.

"Well, it's too late now. If you want it back, you'll have to get it out of my mouth," the other opened his mouth to show a half chewed mush.

_Oh, you'll like that won't you? Bad Izaya. _

"Disgusting," he wrinkled his nose, more for show than anything. He's seen far worse after all.

"Besides," the monster of Ikebukuro continued, ignoring the comment. "I gave you the tea. We can call it a trade of sorts."

"A cup of tea, all 12 oz of it, is worth a dango?" the russet-eyed skeptically asked.

The blond shrugged. "Different things have different value for different people."

"So they do, Shizu-chan. So they do."

* * *

><p>It was a while until they reached the shop. <em>That <em>shop that held unspeakable evils – and yes, more evil than taunting your secretary everday with every little secret of hers. More evil than leading innocent, little girls to suicide. More evil than anything the underground society held.

Dead fish eyes.

Izaya really couldn't understand why people would even _think _of inventing taiyaki. But they did. And they couldn't bother making it so it's cute. Or some other shape than fish. If they made it as pandas or penguins, he had no complaints.

But nooo, they just had to go for the realistic fish with its scales, fins and dead fish eyes.

That, in the informant's opinion, was the most evil thing ever.

And of course, lo and behold, Shizu-chan would start craving the damn things.

"Oh, no. No. We are not going there. Pick any other shop but not there," the informant said, dragging the bigger the other way.

"What? No. Fuck no. I want some taiyaki," Shizuo stood his ground, resisting the pull.

"_Shizu-chan," _Izaya hissed, eyes narrowing. "We are _not_ going there. I don't care what you say or do afterwards, but we are not going near that shop. I'll buy you whatever snacks you want, you gluttonous monster, but we are not going there. Are we clear?"

Honey eyes met the narrowed ones. "Crystal."

The smaller made the mistake of relaxing. Immediately, he was yanked off in the other direction.

"Shizu-chan!"

"When have I ever listened to you?"

Touché.

"You are downright despicable. You – you monster," the raven-haired cried.

"It's just taiyaki, for fuck's sake. What have you got against tai – " the debt collector stopped short as understanding dawned on him. "Oh."

"Yes, oh. Laugh all you want, but we're not going there," Izaya snapped, taking back his arm.

The monster of Ikebukuro gave a sharp, feral grin. He leaned in, obviously enjoying the discomfort of the other. "They're not even _that_ realistic. I don't see why – "

"Not that realistic?" the small frame shook with rage. "Those things just might be a dead fish coated in tempura and deep fried. I bet if you took a bite, the brown coating will come off and it'll be scales and glassy eyes."

"It's filled with red bean paste. Or custard. Or whatever they put in these things nowadays."

The informant grabbed the other's shirt and hissed. "You don't know that. People are deceptive, Shizu-chan. You never know what they're hiding. And that goes for the taiyaki that they make."

"Says the most dishonest, underhanded rat."

The two were at a stalemate. Then Shizuo drew back.

"Well, I'm going to get some, dead fish or not."

"Shizu-chan," Izaya almost whined. Why couldn't he see how immoral and wicked those things were?

"You can wait for me here, if you're really that scared," the former bartender taunted.

The other opened his mouth to rebut. He would not back down from this challenge.

But then he had a horrifying vision of all those damn taiyaki turning into actual fish and the eyes turning and boring right into him. He shuddered.

"I'll wait here, thank you very much."

"Suit yourself."

Shizuo headed towards the stall, the delicious smells wafting around already making his mouth water. Then he had an idea.

"May I have two?"

"What kind would you like dear?"

"Uh, custard, please."

"Thank you for your patronage."

The debt collector took the paper bags, grinning widely all the way. As he approached, the informant eyed him suspiciously.

"What did you do? You're smiling like a monstrous, blond Cheshire Cat."

"It hurts that you should suspect me when I smile," the blond scowled. However, his lips twitched upwards, making it look like a mouth spasm.

"That's because you're a grumpy cat who abhors everything," Izaya sneered.

"If I'm a grumpy cat, that would explain why I hate fleas like you," Shizuo said amusedly. "Here, I got something for you."

"I told you I don't want those accursed things," the lithe man physically shied away. If he was a cat, his fur would be all bristled up.

"I bought it for you as a gift, though," the bigger leaned, almost leering. He dangled the packet between them. "And it'd be rude to not accept a gift."

"Not when it's goddamn dead fish."

"It's not a dead fish. I bought you candy apple."

"Nice try, Shizu-chan. But there's no way I'm taking that bag."

"Mm. Alright."

And just when Izaya thought he won, the Ikebukuro resident slowly brought out his taiyaki, head first. He froze. Everything was in slow motion.

Shizu-chan biting into the head. The dratted head with its big fat lips and round eyes.

The dark haired closed his eyes before the horror could go on any longer.

Evil. The bastard was evil.

"Izaya, think fast."

The informant jolted and opened his eyes to see Shizuo toss something to him. Working only on long-honed reflexes, he caught the blur of the object.

"Shizu-chan," now he definitely whined. Izaya dangled the bag away at arm's length, holding it by the very tip.

"It's great. Delicious. And look, custard, not fish," the blond showed his decapitated taiyaki, custard leaking out.

"I refuse to even take it out of the bag. Absolutely disgusting."

"You could eat it sideways. Or from the tail."

"Shizu-chan, what part of 'disgusting' do you not understand."

"I dare you to eat that."

Torn between backing down from a dare and the horrors of dead fish eyes, the Shinjuku resident finally said, "…I would consider it if you took off the head for me."

"Chicken. But alright, here."

Slowly, as if sudden movements would startle the other, he took out the treat. Izaya squeezed his eyes shut and felt the soft puff of laughter from the blond. The man broke off the head, the cream oozing out.

"You can open your eyes now."

The informant cautiously opened one eye, as if expecting a trick.

"You actually decapitated it," he said incredulously. And before he could stop himself, "That's like an act of true love."

Izaya mentally winced.

_Now you've done it._

The monster of Ikebukuro raised a brow, mulling over the thought. "Decapitating a fish is an act of true love?"

"Yup," the other replied, biting into the headless taiyaki. He eyed the other for his reaction.

"Well, then this would be an act of fake love. Fake fish, fake love. Very fitting for today," Shizuo nodded.

Izaya paused. He hadn't thought of that. Then he licked the custard off his lips. "Yeah, very fitting. It's all fake after all."

This time, the monster of Ikebukuro didn't notice the hint of melancholy in the informant's voice.

* * *

><p><em>Hey.<em>

_Haven't updated for a long time. So sorry about that. But had exams and everything. Ugh. But I'm on break and got to write this. A bit out of practice in writing Izaya and Shizuo so not sure how this turned out. Hopefully okay. And the Disney references? Blame Christmas. I was listening to Christmas songs and Disney songs (since it's Christmas... and I don't know. Just suddenly started listening to Disney songs.) so you get those references. Yay!_

_Bocchan dangos are the dango that comes in three colors. Pink, white and green. In that order. Pink ones are colored by red bean so they probably have the taste of red bean. I don't know about the paste inside though. Just added that. White ones are colored by egg. And green are by matcha. If you want to know more, do not ask me. I can't cook. Or make anything really. I'm on the eating side of the deal. Google recipes and stuff for more. (Does this count as something for Christmas? Pink/red, white and green?)_

_Taiyaki are the fish-shaped waffle cake... thing. I don't know how to explain it. Google it. But since we all know Izaya's afraid of dead fish eyes and I ran out of ideas, why not make him scared of taiyaki?_

_Oh! And the 'stares can kill, as high as__ 0.00000000000000000000000000000000675%' part? Yes, that did come right out of the book. Saika arc, book 2 (I think)._

_If you guys have any ideas or prompts, feel free to tell me. Thanks for reading! Always appreciate feedback._

_Merry Late Christmas and Happy New Year! (Can't believe it's 2015 already.)_

_*Note, this isn't edited. Will update an edited version later. Grammar mistakes and all._

_**Updated edited version!_


	22. Chapter 22

"What else is there to ride?" Shizuo yawned, stretching out his arms.

"Is Shizu-chan getting tired? Perhaps now that you've eaten, it's nappy time?" Izaya cooed softly and mockingly.

"Shut the fuck up, flea. It's not 'nappy time'," the blond stiffened. He continued in an offhand manner. "You're just a terrible date."

The man kept his eyes trained forward, missing the way the dark haired froze ever so slightly.

"That's only because you don't know how to enjoy yourself. You have a stick up your ass," the smaller rebutted a beat later.

"I'll shove a signpost up _your_ ass," the former bartender threatened.

The informant changed the subject, slowing down. He pointed to the ride he settled on. "We should go on that."

The reply was immediate. "That's lame."

"It's dinosaurs! How can they be lame?" Izaya cried in exasperation. "Look, there's even one that's pink!"

The taller stared at the ride. He blinked.

"We," the dark haired paused for effect, "are going on the pink one."

"We are _not _going on that."

"Shizu-chan, it's _dinosaurs_. It's like getting to ride on an ancient, dead animal. Think of all the people who wanted to go on a dinosaur but can't!"

"No one was alive during the times of dinosaurs."

"Wow, Shizu-chan, you actually paid attention in history class."

"That's just basic knowledge," Shizuo grunted. "Besides, these are fake. They don't even look like dinosaurs. Those giant lizards weren't pink."

"Dinosaurs aren't reptiles though," the informant pointed out.

"What?"

"There's debate about whether or not dinosaurs are actually reptiles or not. If they were reptiles, they would've been cold blooded and wouldn't have enough energy to go around rampaging. They would have to bask in the sun, like present-day crocodiles."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"However, since they go around rampaging, they would've had more energy and more are akin to mammals. But then what about the scales and the eggs? Therefore if you really think about it, dinosaurs are the in-between-blooded, despite their name literally being 'terrible lizard'."

"I have no idea what you're spouting right now but if you want to talk science, go to Shin – "

"Now that I think about it, isn't Shizu-chan like a dinosaur?" Izaya asked, tilting his head.

That stopped the blond in his tracks. "I'm not a dinosaur."

"I didn't say you were a dinosaur. There wouldn't even be a species monstrous enough for you."

"You – wha – that's not – "

The lithe man continued, ignoring all protests. "I mean, if dinosaurs were reptiles, that meant they would've been laying around in the sun. And rampaging. Contradictory, yes?"

Shizuo narrowed his eyes.

"Shizu-chan likes being contradictory, basking in the sun and rampaging around the city and therefore, you're like a dinosaur."

Despite all the former bartender could've said, his only reply was, "That's creepy."

The resident of Shinjuku blinked. "What is?"

"The fact that you know I like basking in the sun. How the fuck do you even know that?" the man clenched his fists, probably – no, _is_ ready to hit him if he said the wrong thing.

Regardless, fearless russet eyes fixed the other with a deadpan stare. "Really? All those times skipping classes and just to sleep on the roof? I don't know if you noticed but I sometimes ate lunch with you, Shinra and Dota-chin. And you would usually go to sleep afterwards."

The blond snorted. "Of course I noticed. I always suspected you were there to poison my food."

"Ouch, Shizu-chan. I wouldn't go so low. Besides, that would be too easy."

"Still, it's creepy."

The dark haired directed the topic back to dinosaurs. Less talk of him being 'creepy', the better (at least today).

"Besides, how would _you_ know dinosaurs weren't pink? We only have the fossils of them. They could be pink with green spots for all we know. Or covered in huge warts. We don't know what their skin looks. We only know the inside."

"And I thought the saying goes 'appearances don't matter."

Before they realized it, they had inched closer to the waiting line.

"Not when the insides are just old bones," the informant countered.

"Bones can be different."

"Maybe for you, you monster. Being freakishly strong and refusing to even get a broken pinky."

"It's the milk," the Ikebukuro resident mumbled, almost in an embarrassed manner. "Drink lots of milk, or else you'll be weak like… well, you."

"I'm not weak. Maybe only compared to you. And bones deteriorate. They become weaker sooner or later. They don't last forever," Izaya waved a hand flippantly. Then softly to himself, he whispered, "Nothing lasts forever."

"Idiot flea," the bespectacled man groused.

The 'idiot flea' almost jumped. Stupid Shizu-chan with his stupidly sharp ears.

"Of course nothing lasts forever. You die someday and that's the end of forever. You'll just have to make it last for as long as you can, keep them until you die."

"What if you can't keep them? What if they're out of reach?" The words tumble out before he could stop himself. Izaya internally cursed himself.

"You mean if they die before you or something like that?" the other raised a brow in question.

_No, not really. _

"Then keep it here," Shizuo pointed to his temple. "Keep the memories."

_If I was to suddenly die, would _you_ keep me in your memories? Would I be in there forever? Or would you do everything to erase me? _

The dark haired looked away. He quipped, "Must be hard. After all, Shizu-chan doesn't have much space up there."

"How about I shove a vending machine into your skull so there's no space for you to keep anything? Fair, yeah?" the taller sneered, taking a step in the line.

"You know, you really shouldn't contribute to the death toll of vending machines. They kill 10 people each year."

"Huh?" the blond blinked, leaning back in surprise at the random comment.

"It's true. But I suspect that 10 people dead each year were from your misses. If you improve your aim, I think maybe you can get in the national baseball team. You'd be a Samurai Japan!" Izaya smirked at the prospect of Shizuo being a baseball player. Baseball bats would be crushed and the pitcher would be dead in a week, if not less.

"It's only casualties because you keep dodging!"

"I know, but if I don't dodge, I'll also be included in the death toll."

"Good riddance."

"Either be killed or get someone else killed. Tough choices, ain't it? Life's so unfair sometimes. Or should I say Shizu-chan?"

"What?" Shizuo did not fully comprehend that sentence.

"After all, you're the one throwing vending machines, specifically at me. That's unfair. For me," the smaller elaborated.

"Because you deserve it."

"Really. The least you could do is give me a drink from those vending machines," the informant huffed jokingly.

"Maybe I will."

Izaya stilled and glanced at the other through the corner of his eyes.

"If I can find rat poison as a drink, that is."

_Ah, that's more like it. What a pity._

* * *

><p>"Are we seriously riding this?" They were nearing the end of the line now, only a few more people to go.<p>

"You're the one who got in the line first."

"Tch. I'm not going on the pink thing though. Thank goodness it's individual. If not, I'm just going to have to push you off."

"Well, that'll be a first. Not everyone can say they got pushed off a dinosaur on a first date," Izaya drawled.

Shizuo gritted his teeth. "This is not a date."

"Oh? Two people going out together, sharing food, good times and bad times, vomiting in bathrooms after rides, wearing matching couple shirts – isn't that what a date is?"

"No. Not when it's with _you_," the blond sneered.

"Then what _would_ you call it, Shizu-chan?"

"…a deal. We had a deal, didn't we? Information in return for my time and your twisted entertainment?"

"Twisted?"

"Spending the day with the person you abhor for your own amusement? If that's not twisted, I don't know what is."

_Is that what you think? _

"Abhor. Big word for a small brained monster like you."

"How about I crush _your_ brain with my own hands?"

The bespectacled attendant – oddly there seemed to be three at the station – seemed alarmed by the threat.

"Uh – "

Izaya interrupted, shoving the other man in. "That again. Really, if you want to give me an offer, how about something like a back massage?"

"No one wants to touch your icky flea back."

"So mean. Now, run along to the T-rex over there. It suits you, you know? Big and destructive but pea-brained."

Shizuo scowled. "I thought their brains were only considered small because the bodies were just too large."

The dark haired raised a brow. "And how would you know that fact?"

The former bartender deepened his scowl. "Common knowledge."

"Really?"

A pause. "Fine, it was Shinra, okay?"

A sudden look of realization dawned on the informant's face. "Ah."

It wouldn't be odd for the doctor to have a phase where he rambled on about dinosaurs, among the Celty-ramblings.

The blond turned on his heel and headed towards the green T-rex the other mentioned. He'd rather go on another just to oppose the dark haired man's words but seeing as the only other ride available was the pink _thing _– what were they called again? Petro – pecter? Pedo (okay, definitely not this one).

Izaya watched as Shizuo straddled the green plastic toy before getting on his own. He noticed the deep frown on the other's face.

"Please secure yourselves. To make sure that the ride goes up, please keep your finger on the button. Otherwise the ride will go down and – "

"Oi, what's with that boring way of explaining, Pachi. It's gotta have more – more flash – more DON! to it. More – "

"Hey! Don't just grab the microphone like that – hey!"

"I want to eat sukuonbu an – "

A loud screech filled the space as the system got cut off. After an abrupt silence, light jazzy music started.

"Please con – continue wi – with the – ack – ride."

Izaya watched with dispassionate eyes as the attendant with glasses got strangled by some dude with a bad white perm and a redheaded girl in Chinese attire.

The whole ride spun along with the music. The informant experimentally pressed the button, humming in thought as his pterodactyl went up. It was a shame this wasn't a grouped ride like others. He couldn't have any fun.

The resident of Shinjuku glanced back in surprise as he heard annoyed growls from behind.

"Shizu-chan!" he greeted as he lowered himself down. "Having trouble?"

The man in question was repeatedly pressing – no it can't even be called that anymore – _stabbing _the button.

"It's not trouble. It's just that the damn thing won't start!"

"Shizu-chan," Izaya sighed. "That's called trouble. Here let me see."

He tried to lean over, trying to push the button. His fingers only grazed the surface when they were harshly grabbed by the other. He almost fell off his dinosaur.

"You. Shut the fuck up. This is probably all your fault," Shizuo glared, passing the blame.

The dark haired huffed. "Well then, I was _trying_ to help. But I guess you can just be stuck down there like the lowly monster you are."

Izaya jabbed his button angrily, ascending.

"Fuck this shit."

When the informant looked back at the comment, the former bartender was already taking off his seat belt and balancing himself on the T-rex.

"Shizu-chan?" he managed before the taller came hurtling at him.

It was a good thing the pink pterodactyl was quite large – big enough for Shizuo's feet to land, albeit a bit unsteadily.

"What are you doing?" Izaya asked incredulously. But then again, the other was always doing unpredictable things like this.

"Hah?!" the blond distractedly grunted. "Scooch in a bit, flea. Stop taking up so much space with your fat arse."

He pushed the resident of Shinjuku and made himself as comfortable as he could.

"I'm not fat. And get off. This is my pink pterodactyl."

"No."

"I thought you didn't like pink pterodactyls," the dark haired continued.

"I don't." It seems that he wasn't going to elaborate.

_Stupid Shizu-chan. _

"Then why did you come up here?"

"Tch. Like hell I'm going to let you call me 'lowly monster'. Or anything else for the matter," he frowned. "Besides, I can't have you being taller than me. That's just going against the way of nature."

Izaya glared. "Just because you excessively drink milk like an overgrown child – " he froze when he felt warm hands circle his waist. " – what are you doing?"

The blond merely raised an eyebrow as if that should be obvious. Which it was. But out of ordinary for a pair like them.

"Shizu-chan?" the informant asked again when the hands pulled him flushed against the other. He could feel the former bartender's breath on his neck.

"What does it look like? I'm taking off your seat belt so I can throw you off."

_Oh._

A sense of relief and disappointment crashed down on him.

"Eh?! What – you can't do that!"

"And why not?!" Shizuo's tongue poked out as he concentrated on getting the belt off. "Stop squirming so much flea. The thing's getting twisted."

"Because, Shizu-chan, this is _my_ pink pterodactyl."

_And it's quite nice like this. _

"You didn't buy this ride." Then he muttered himself, "Should I just rip this off?"

"No, you should not rip this off."

"I'm ripping it off."

"You're paying for that then."

The monster of Ikebukruo immediately conceded at that. "I'm not ripping it off."

"I picked this pink pterodactyl though. You wanted to be with the retarded and boring T-rex."

"There wasn't exactly much of a choice."

"I don't care. If you want to throw me off a dinosaur, get your T-rex up here first. Then get me on there and throw me off," Izaya instructed, taking his hand off the button to slap at the large hands.

_So warm._

"The T-rex's dead. It can't come up here," Shizuo replied. "Stop it. Just let me get this off."

He was oddly patient for such a trivial task.

"Look, Shizu-chan, we're descending because of you."

"Keep your hand on the button then!"

"So that you can take off the belt and throw me off? No thanks. Either you let go of the belt and we go up again or we'll end up being on the same level as your T-rex."

Shizuo frowned. He can't have them going down. That would defeat the purpose of throwing the flea off from the dinosaur. But then letting go of the flea would mean admitting defeat. He didn't want to let go before he got the belt off.

"Shziu-chan, I'm waiting."

The blond let go.

The dark haired said nothing as he reached for the button. He oddly missed the warmth on his waist.

Then the warmth was back, yanking him harshly against a hard chest.

_Smack._

"Why did you do that?!"

"It's fine, isn't it? This way, the button will be permanently pressed and the thing will stay up."

"That's not how it works," Izaya grumbled.

"And I can throw you off a pink dinosaur. Isn't that what you wanted?" the monster of Ikebukuro bit his lip in concentration.

He kept a firm hand on the flea, trying to pin the other against himself.

"Seriously, stop be such a flea."

"According to you, I'm originally a flea so there's no way I can just stop being a flea," the resident of Shinjuku dryly retorted.

The response was immediate. "Yeah, you can. Go die."

"You're such a brutish monster. You just broke the button with your barbaric methods." The smaller elbowed the bespectacled man. "I don't know if you've noticed but we're stuck in the middle, now."

All he got was a feral grin. "Perfect."

Okay, maybe that _was_ how it worked.

_Shit._

* * *

><p>"Shouldn't we say something about two people on one ride?" the bespectacled attendant pointed to the pink dinosaur. The pair seemed to be having an intense fight, if the hair-pulling-hand-scratching was anything to go by.<p>

"Hm? Isn't it fine, yes? Maybe they both really like the pink thing. Can you eat it?" the redhead beside him opened a snack packet.

"Hah. As long as they don't do something drastic like die," the oldest of the trio picked his nose as he flipped through the magazine.

"They're not going to drop dead right now." The younger male paused after witnessing a particularly harsh head-butt. "At least, I don't think so. And STOP READING JUMP!"

"Eh? Isn't our shift over already?"

"I think so, yes? Let's go. I wanna eat some cotton candy."

"Glutton," the man stretched.

"EH?! You're just going to leave like this?"

"It's okay, glasses. Our shift is over anyways."

"No, it's not. I thought we were hired _for the day_!"

"You know, Pachi, when you grow older, you'll realize how lucky we are to be in an amusement park for free. You should always take advantage of it when you can. Besides, they'll get someone to man the station."

"…you know, this is why we don't get any money."

After a moment, the boy hung his head, following the other two. He looked back at the pair on the pink dinosaur. He felt like they really should say something.

As the boy left, he pressed the 'Stop' button on the system.

* * *

><p>"Is the ride already over?" Shizuo asked in surprise, pausing momentarily in their grappling.<p>

The other rides were rapidly going down. They were still stuck in the same place.

"It would seem so, Shizu-chan." Izaya let go of the blond's hair. He smoothed his own hair and readjusted his attire.

"Damn. I thought it'd take a little longer. Then I could've thrown you off."

"So single-minded and straightforward. Just like a protozoan."

"Shut up."

The dark haired finally and reluctantly wrestled the warm, warm hands from his waist. With a _schink, _he finally took off the belt. He swung his legs and with a gentle push, landed on the ground a bit unbalanced. He glared up.

"You didn't have to push me."

The bigger landed soundly beside him. "Yeah, but that was the only way I could push you off without too many people noticing, now that the ride's stopped. Wouldn't want to disturb it so much."

"So thoughtful of society. Now if only you could stop smoking cigarettes," the informant hummed under his breath.

They walked out, looking over at the puzzled crowd. Deciding to ignore it, the duo continued in their aimless path.

Then Shizuo stopped. Izaya, who had been walking behind, bumped into the man.

"Ow! What the fuck, Shizu-chan?" He rubbed his nose, almost pouting. Izaya Orihara doesn't pout.

"Oi, let's go in here."

"What now, you monster?" He noted how there were no attendants in sight. "You want to man the station or something?"

The former bartender responded by shoving a spare piece of paper into the lithe man's face. "Here, write down your address and phone number. We should at least pay for the button getting broken."

"You mean _you_ should pay for it. You're the one who broke it."

"Because you provoked me!" the blond snarled in reply. "Just write your shitty flea address and phone number."

"Jeez."

Scribbling down a quick note, _'Your T-rex sucked. It's broken. And we ended up breaking the pink pterodactyl's button too.'_

"Why did you stop?"

"Well, I was thinking, isn't it unfair that I'm the only one writing my phone number and address for their bill? Shouldn't you write yours too? You contributed to the destruction too."

Shizuo blinked. "Yeah, but you're richer so you should pay," he stated bluntly.

"So materialistic. At least add in your initials or something."

"Fine. But write yours first."

Izaya hummed as he wrote down his information. _If you want, you can bill it to me. _

_Nakura _- he paused then added. You never know what Shizu-chan knows – _ma. _

"Oi, oi. That's not your name. Or 'flea'."

"I can't believe you're this dumb. But then again, you _are_ a protozoan."

A vein popped on the blond's forehead. He growled.

"I can't just use my real name. That'll just be causing a scandal and besides, I don't want anyone disturbing me today," he explained. "That being said, you can't use your real name on here either. You damn Heiwajima brothers. Being too famous all the time."

"What's Kasuka got to do with this?"

"Nothing." He continued writing.

_Phone number: 0xx-xxx-xxx9. _

"That's not your phone number. The last number should be one," Shizuo spoke over the man's shoulder.

"And how would you know? Don't tell me you have my phone number memorized?" the lithe man teased.

The taller flatly stated, "Only so that I can ignore it when you call."

Izaya stilled momentarily at that.

The man continued, unaware of the turmoil he just caused. "I don't know how you keep finding my new numbers. Every time my phone gets crushed, and it's usually because of your annoying flea voice, and I get a new one, I swear, you call me like the creepy stalker you are."

_Shizu-chan has my phone number memorized? _

He hadn't expected _this_. Him being marked as 'Flea'. Yeah, sure. But to have it memorized… that gave him a new, almost giddy feeling.

He burst out laughing. "Ahaha. Shizu-chan has my phone number memorized?! You're such a stalker!"

The monster of Ikebukuro huffed in annoyance, though this was exactly how he expected the other man to react. "Takes one to know one, flea."

"A snappy comeback for once, huh?"

"Just hurry up and write the damn thing."

"Yes, yes."

He picked up the pen again. Then he couldn't resist. He wondered if Shizu-chan would catch this. Probably.

_404, xxx apartment, Shinjuku Prefecture. _

"Is that your apartment number?" Shizuo scrunched his eyebrows in thought.

Or not.

"Yes," Izaya smirked. "You've visited me so many times and you still don't know the number?"

"I usually kick the door down," the other pointed out.

"I know. I'm the one paying to fix it every time," the informant deadpanned.

"Give that to me," the taller said, ignoring the other's comment.

_Hei – _

"Didn't I tell you not to write your name? Initials or something!"

"Stop nagging, flea."

"I don't _nag_."

_-wani – _

"Shizu-chan, you lack so much creativity. Give me that." He furiously scribbled out the other's illegible scrawl.

_H.S._

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"It's your initials, dumbass. Since you refuse to write an even remotely different name. Honestly, Heiwani? What's next? Shitsuo?"

"I wasn't going to write _that_," the blond defended in a tone that said that was exactly what he was going to write. "Shitsuo's a stupid name."

"Let's get out of here. Hope you had your fill of being a goody-goody-two-shoes today," Izaya tossed the paper onto the desk before flouncing out.

"So, where are we going next?"

"Ferris Wheel of course!"

Shizuo frowned.

* * *

><p><em>Here's the new chapter! Which you all had to wait for... 3 months? Wow... I'm sorry. It took so long. I'll try to work on my timings... <em>

_But yay! New chapter! And new information. I learned a few things from this chapter. Good thing I didn't just write the information with the general knowledge. I mean, who knew dinosaurs weren't reptiles? I didn't. My whole life changed with this. I have been living with a lie for all my life. Pterodactyls aren't dinosaurs either. They're more closely related to reptiles. Just search up 'are pterodactyls dinosaurs' on Google. Click on the and scroll down a bit. You'll see a chart where pterodactyls and dinosaurs diverge. _

_Though pterodactyls are NOT dinosaurs, birds, like nowadays birds, are dinosaurs. Did you know that? I didn't. I have birds at home and sure they get annoying sometimes but are they as scary as dinosaurs? Nope. (Okay, maybe the yellow vicious one. That one's loud and attacks you like you offended their great-great grandfather.) _

_And I added a bunch of references! Can anyone guess where the 'attendants' are from? I didn't use any names (well, just a nickname) but it should be pretty obvious. If you watch it. And not sure if you guys noticed, but I made Izaya a troll in this one (when is he not?)... check his address. And Shitsuo. God, Butler!Shizuo is hot. Well, he's hot anyhow. But I would definitely like to get pampered by him (as long as we don't have a vending machine in the house, we're good)._

_The idea of the dinosaur rides and the T-rex malfunctioning was suggested by my beta, Fumiko16. So thanks to her, we have this fight on the pink pterodactyl!_

_Hope this one was okay. I tried to write from only one perspective (mostly. I'm working on it) because otherwise, the POVs would be hopping around like Zaya when Zuo's chasing him._

_Thanks for reading! Feedback is always appreciated._


	23. Chapter 23

"We can't go on the Ferris Wheel," Shizuo stated bluntly, drawing to a stop.

Izaya also stopped and slowly turned around. He raised a brow challengingly. He spoke slowly and saccharinely. "And why ever not, Shizu-chan?"

"Because," the blond spluttered. Because going on a Ferris Wheel was what _couples_ do. And they weren't one. Because it would make the flea's words true. That they were on a _date_, not a deal. And today was just a deal.

"Yes?" the informant prompted once the silence became too long. "Enlighten me, Shizu-chan. Why shouldn't – no, _can't_ according to you – we go on the Ferris Wheel?"

"I – because it's not six yet."

Fuck.

"The fuck does _that_ mean?" the other stared at him like he was retarded.

_Yeah, what the fuck do _I_ mean? _

"What does the time have to do with anything?"

"Because," Shizuo dragged out the syllables as if his point will magically appear in front of him. "Everyone knows that you should go on Ferris Wheels at six. Or six-thirty. That's the time the sun sets."

Okay, seriously, what the fuck was he saying? The words just came out with no real reason.

Russet eyes narrowed at him. "Shizu-chan, I think you've been reading too much shoujo manga."

"I don't even read – "

"Besides," Izaya held up his phone. "Today, the sun sets at 5:53 pm. And look, 5:48. Perfect timing, ne?"

"How is that perfect timing?"

The dark haired sighed. "I know Shizu-chan's pretty bad at this planning-the-time stuff but honestly, it's just logic. We have to wait in line for a few minutes, depending on the amount of people there. And with my guess, it'll be around 5:53 when we get on the ride. And you get your shoujo-manga Ferris Wheel ride."

"I knew that," the monster of Ikebukuro turned a bit red. He just hadn't thought of it when he asked the question.

_Yeah, you never think things through, do you?_

_Shut up._

"Besides, who said I wanted a shoujo-manga Ferris Wheel ride? I don't even read that shit."

"I don't think you read at all, period."

"Flea," the blond warned.

"Well, whether you want a shoujo-manga ride or not, what kind of idiot comes to an amusement park and doesn't go on the Ferris Wheel?"

The flea kind of have a point there.

"Aside from, you know, protozoan Shizu-chan."

_Fuck it. It's not like we're actually on a date. Not like one measly ride is going to change anything. Right? _

Shizuo growled. "You know what? Screw it. We can go on the damn thing if you want. Fucking flea."

"Oh, a sudden change of heart. Wonder what brought that on," Izaya commented lightly. "Well, no matters. Let's go."

* * *

><p>As they waited in line, the bespectacled man idly wondered when he could go leave. The day was almost over. He hoped it was right after this ride was finished.<p>

Probably not.

"-ki-kun! You can't just around asking people for pictures!"

High schoolers? The redhead seemed a bit short to be one.

"It's okay. It'll be fine."

He didn't notice the dark haired boy until the boy was right in front of him.

"Excuse me."

Shizuo looked up.

_He's tall. _

He looked around. He and the flea were the last in line. But the boy must've been talking to someone else.

"Excuse me, do you think you two could pose for a picture?"

Definitely someone else.

"It's definitely not okay! What are you doing?! If you want a picture, you can take one of us!" another redhead, this time a guy, yelled at the tall one.

"But they're the perfect height! And we don't have to use boxes!" the dark haired turned around to a much shorter brown haired excitedly.

_What?_

"Eh? Boxes? We had some in the last rehearsal. We were doing the balcony scene. _'But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun'_," another high schooler in the group recited. Drama club? "You were a really good Juliet, Hor – ack!" The boy – wait no, 'he' was wearing a skirt – girl? – crossdresser? – bent over double with the kick the brown haired male gave.

Shizuo tuned them out. It was getting dark now. And he didn't want to have dinner with the flea. A meal was more than enough for the day and they already had… what – 3?

" – course, we can. Shizu-chan and I – Shizu-chan?" Izaya elbowed the blond. "Don't be rude. Listen when people are talking to you."

"What?" he snapped back.

"They asked if they could take a picture of us. Apparently we're the perfect height for the perfect couple."

"Eh, um, or as friends! It doesn't have to be a couple!" the redheaded girl gestured wildly with her hands. Then she paused, wide-eyed. "Un – unless you two are! I mean, there's nothing wrong with that!"

Shizuo narrowed his eyes. He answered shortly, "No, we're not."

"Okay!" she squeaked, shrinking back behind her companions.

"Noz – ARGH! I can't even speak properly. Why would you do this?! I already told you we'll wear gakurans for you!"

"Brother, I have a gakuran that you can borrow."

For goodness sake, how many people were in this group? When he was in high school, Shizuo didn't remember having that many friends to go to the amusement park with. Or go to the amusement park at all, really.

There was Izaya... he had Shinra… Izaya again… and Kadota… and then Izaya… the flea was a part of a lot of things. Mostly – no, always bad.

"Well, gakuran or not, we're eligible for a picture," Izaya cut in, a glint in his eyes. He grabbed the taller's arm.

The monster of Ikebukuro turned abruptly and shook the other off. "What do you mean a picture?"

"This young man just said - ," the dark haired started with a sigh.

"I know what he just said," the bespectacled man growled in annoyance.

"Then don't ask stupid questions," came the immediate re-counter.

"There's no such thing as a stupid question. Besides, I wasn't asking one. Who said I was going to take a picture with _you_?"

"Shizu-chan, before you know it, your youth will be all gone and you'll be old man with Alzheimer. Pictures are memories."

"Yeah, well, I don't need this particular memory. I have plenty of memories of you already." The former bartender grabbed a fistful of the other's shirt.

"How touching. Am I that memorable?"

"So now if you two could just – ack – Sa – ack – shiba! What are you guys doing?!" the tall one choked.

"I'm very sorry about this disturbance," another high schooler (how many high schoolers _were_ here? Were they taking a school trip or something?) apologized furiously. "No, wait, senpai! Not a noogie!"

"Shut it, Wa – wait a minute, is that a parfait shop?" This time it was a rude looking girl. She dragged him off.

They were starting to piss him off. Just a bit. Just enough so that he wanted to throw them into the nearest tree.

_Don't kill high school students. That would be bad. Really bad. Think of the headline – 'Shizuo Heiwajima kills high school students in amusement park'. _

He pinched Izaya instead.

"That fucking hurts," the flea hissed.

"Suck it up. It's all your fault anyways."

"How is this all my – "

"You're the one who invited them to – "

_Snap! _

The tall teenager bowed. "Thank you for the perfect photo. If there was an award for best height difference, I'm sure you two would win it."

And before anyone could respond, he went off to another ride, muttering something about unreliable editors and selfies. The whole group followed without saying another word.

That definitely made Shizuo want to throw everyone single one of them into the garbage can. Or off the rollercoaster. He opted to pinch Izaya again.

"Shizu-chan!" the informant scowled. "Would you stop that? Just because – argh. I think you just left a bruise."

"I didn't pinch _that_ hard."

"Uh, yeah you did." The smaller lifted his shirt a bit to show a sliver of unblemished creamy skin disrupted only by a large red mark. "Look at this. This is going to end up all black and blue like some hideous hickey."

"I did _not _give you a hickey." The blond shivered at the mere thought of the act.

"I didn't say you did. I only said you marked me. Like some kind of territorial beast."

"I am not a territorial beast. Besides who'd want to own an annoying flea?"

"You wouldn't own me, Shizu-chan. If I was really a flea, you'd be a mutt and be infested by me."

"At least you're admitting you're a blood-sucking flea."

"And at least you're admitting you're a mutt. Wonder what kind you'll be," Izaya mused to himself. "A golden retriever? No, no. Something wilder. Maybe a Labrador or Rottweiler…."

"And you'd still be a flea," Shizuo remarked dryly.

"The flea and the mutt. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" the resident of Shinjuku hummed. "Oh, look. The ride has a 'No pets allowed' sign. I think I'll have to smuggle you in, ne?"

The former bartender growled. "Who the fuck's your pet?"

* * *

><p>"After you, Shizu-chan."<p>

"Why?" The monster of Ikebukuro was immediately suspicious.

"Come on now," the dark haired urged. "Don't hold up the line. Get in the car."

"So that you can stab me in the back and leave me to die in the car?"

"Don't jump to conclusions, Shizu-chan," Izaya wrinkled his nose. "I wouldn't kill you in front of everybody, especially children."

Shizuo raised an eyebrow in doubt.

The informant conceded. "Okay, maybe I would. But I wouldn't kill and tell. Now get in the damn car."

"If that line wasn't spoken at an amusement park, that would be so cree – no, it's still creepy either way," the blond remarked as he stepped inside.

Izaya didn't bother replying, focusing on closing the door. He moved to sit next to the other, only to find himself pressed against the other end with a foot in his stomach.

"No, you're not sitting here. Go to the other side," the former bartender adamantly said.

"I'll choose my damn seat as I please, Shizu-chan. And I want to sit there."

"Next to me? So you can annoy me more? No, I don't think so."

Fucking flea. Why can't he just stay the hell away from him?

"You know, it's actually more advantageous for you if I sit beside you. After all, since you're a melee fighter, you have more of a chance to maim or kill me," the Shinjuku resident cajoled.

"Aren't you a close-range annoying little flea too?" Jumping around from building to building and trying to stab me whenever you're close," Shizuo pointed out.

"I'm also very adaptable. I attacked you from a far range. Like… well I'm sure there are many examples in your memory. Pick the best and relive it."

Shizuo foot grinded against the other's stomach. "Going by that logic, I'm also a range fighter and very adaptable."

Izaya glared. "Shizu-chan, that wasn't the point."

The blond merely snorted. "I know. Why don't you be adaptable and sit over there?"

"Why don't _you_ be adaptable and let me sit where I want to sit?"

Both men glared at each other.

The informant gave a huge sigh as if it pained him to say it. "Fine. I'll sit here. Otherwise, we'd be here all day and the poor pretty scenery will be neglected. We're already almost at the top of the wheel."

The monster of Ikebukuro gave a scowl before retracting his foot. "Damn, I thought the ride would be almost done."

The dark haired gave a small frown. "It's a very slow moving Ferris Wheel."

"No shit."

Once again, the other didn't reply, choosing to gaze out the window. Shizuo blinked against the glare of the setting sun.

_Looks like the flea was right. We're right in time for the sunset._

He hated it when the informant was right. Looking away from the sunset, the former bartender studied his enemy instead.

_How can he just look at the landscape freely like I can't lunge and kill him in one second? How can he be so carefree when _I'm _sitting right in front of him? _

_Why did he even decide he wanted to spend a day with _me_? _

The resident of Shinjuku turned his head slightly. The older Heiwajima noticed that the flea's hair turned slightly brown in the sun. He'd always thought it was jet black.

Like how he expected the other's soul to be. If he had one.

As he properly looked at the smaller's features, he noted that the man's eyes weren't red. More… a soft reddish brown. Like the color of fallen leaves during autumn.

The blond idly wondered what the exact color of Izaya's eyes were. The other had one of those change-with-the-light eyes.

Of course, whether or not his eyes were red or brown didn't deter the fact that the flea was pure evil annoyance.

This new… light… merely softened the informant's features. Made him look more… weaker and definitely more like Shizuo could snap the pale neck with a gentle squeeze. Less like an annoying flea that could somehow keep up with him like no one else.

_But soft, what light through yonder window breaks. It is the east and Juliet is the sun… _

Shizuo scowled deeper. He knew that line well. After all, he heard his brother practice it tons of times, sometimes even saying Juliet's lines to help.

But, why the fuck was _that_ line popping up right now? It wasn't east that he was facing.

More like 'it is the west and Izaya is a flea'.

Fucking high school kid making him remember unrelated things at the worst times. Fucking blinding sunset making him think of shoujo manga scenarios. Fucking flea.

"What?" the dark haired asked, turning to fully face the taller. "Why are you staring at me?"

"I wasn't staring at you."

"Really."

Shizuo turned slightly red. "I was looking at the sun."

"Really," Izaya repeated. "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if you went blind. Didn't anyone ever tell you that you should never look directly at the sun?"

"Your big head blocked some of it. Like a flea-solar eclipse," the blond half-heartedly retorted.

The resident of Shinjuku chose to ignore the comment to continue his train of thought. "But then again, I wouldn't be surprised. After all, you probably have monster eyes that can somehow withstand sun rays. Stupid Shizu-chan. "

"I don't have monster eyes. I need shades," the former bartender pointed out. He turned his head to look at the scenery. With the ride three-quarters way through, all he could see were trees.

"What's so interesting about trees?" he muttered grumpily.

"It wasn't just trees. Shizu-chan is just a dumbass protozoan and refused to look when we were at the top. You missed your shoujo-manga scene," Izaya taunted.

_Not really_.

The dark haired continued. "You know, since you missed the landscape, I think we need to go on this again."

The monster of Ikebukuro frowned. "No, it's fine. I don't really care about the scenery."

He did not need a repeat of the… whatever thing happened with the sunset. Maybe the flea was right. Maybe his eyes were getting destroyed from the sun.

He seriously hated it when the flea was right.

"No, no. I really think we should ride this again."

"Fucking flea. I said no."

"All right, all right. No need to get your panties in a twist, Shizu-chan."

"I don't wear panties. I'm not a girl." Shizuo grinned menacingly. "You on the other hand…."

"Oh, wouldn't you like to find out?" Izaya taunted.

The blond made a face and gagged. "Not in that way. But seriously. Who knows what kind of shady things you get up to? I wouldn't be surprised if you pretended to be a girl online or some dumb shit like that."

He didn't the notice the smaller flinch slightly.

"Well, since you don't want to go on this ride again, what do you suggest we ride next?" the other nonchalantly asked.

"None. Let's go home."

"My, my, Shizu-chan. Do you always invite girls back to your place on the first date?"

The monster of Ikebukuro glared. "Not like that, you sick fuck. You're not even a girl. I meant, I go back to my apartment and you go back to your dingy little flea cave."

"Dingy little flea cave? Really, Shizu-chan?" the informant looked affronted. "My apartment is a thousand times better than yours and you know it."

"Tch. So what? Yours is made from the crappy black money that you got from who knows where. Knowing that doesn't exactly make it cozy," the blond countered.

The smaller smirked. "You know, denial isn't just a river in Egypt. Just because you're jealous – "

"I'm not jealous," Shizuo snapped.

"Uh-huh. I think you just hit a cataract in the Nile right there."

"You effing – "

"Would the visitors please exit the ride?" the attendant asked as he opened the door.

"Look like this is it. Unless, you want to go on another…" Izaya trailed off, looking off to the side.

"Not a chance, flea. If you want to go, go alone. I'll be taking my leave," Shizuo hurriedly stepped out of the car. He walked, never looking back to see if the other would follow.

Maybe the flea would really take another ride on the Ferris Wheel by himself.

"Shizu-chan's so mean. Leaving me just like that."

Damn. It seemed he can't ditch the informant today.

"Well?"

"Well, what?" the bigger snapped. What the hell did the flea want now?

"Well, what does Shizu-chan want ride next?" the dark haired exasperatedly elaborated.

"Nothing. I don't want to go on anything else. I want to leave," the former bartender firmly answered.

Izaya ignored the request. "Well, since Shizu-chan doesn't want to go on rides, shall we play some games? Take a walk around the stalls?"

"Absolutely not."

"Then it's decided. Let's go, Shizu-chan. I want to hit the shooting range," the dark haired grabbed the other's hand and dragged him towards the stalls.

Shizuo wrestled his hand away before grudgingly following the other. "Fucking flea," he muttered under his breath.

* * *

><p><em>Hey.<em>

_I should just tell you guys, I read in 1/2 format. So the one lines all look like a paragraph or so each... So it might look a bit sparse in this format. I just realized it now... _

_I wrote this in Shizuo's perspective. And I just noticed. I make him swear a lot more... I have no idea if I'm doing it subconsciously because he's supposed to be more spontaneously violent and you know, that leads to swearing or... I don't know me sometimes. I think Zaya and Zuo would swear the same amount really._

_About the cameo. Can you guys guess? There were a lot of characters this time but I loved all of them and couldn't find it in my heart to delete some of them... And that balcony scene line? We're doing Romeo and Juliet at school. And the references just come out, you know? _

_5:53 (or 17:53 as they say in parts of Asia) is the sunset time for Tokyo on... March 21st, which is when I wrote that scene. And then the following days, I slacked off a bit. _

_Anyways, this is it. Thanks for reading! Hoped you enjoyed it. _

_Feedback is always appreciated. _


	24. Chapter 24

They didn't go to the shooting range.

Of course they didn't. Because Izaya was a sleazing liar.

At least that's what Shizuo kept telling himself. They didn't stop because the other man became utterly (and stupidly in what might've been an endearingly childish way if he wasn't such a _flea_) fascinated with wax hands.

The flea _must_ have some ulterior motive. Something that involved wax hands.

Wax hands.

Out of all the things in the amusement park, it had to be wax hands. Those silly looking things with dip-dyed colors that didn't even match. And you had to stand there like an idiot dipping your hands in who knows what for how long. And force whoever was with you to stand beside you, like you guys were twin idiots.

Fucking wax hands.

* * *

><p>"I want a heart," Izaya decided with a note of finality.<p>

"Tch. I don't know why you would bother. You have none," Shizuo scowled.

The dark haired merely blinked. "Care to join, Shizu-chan? Memory sake."

"Like I said before, I don't want any memories from today. It's bad enough that you're constantly in Ikebukuro to keep my memory fresh."

"Fresh like the fresh milk Shizu-chan likes," the other hummed.

"Don't compare yourself to milk," the blond snapped.

"Wow. I'm not even worth as much as milk. Ouch," the informant dryly remarked.

"A heart doesn't fit you," Shizuo continued with his original train of thought.

"It doesn't matter whether or not it fits me. I can get it if I want," the smaller insisted. Softly, he whispered to himself. "I can get it but I can't have it."

"What'd you say?"

"I _said_," he repeated, loud and clear. "I can get a heart if I want to."

The monster of Ikebukuro snorted. "Whatever. I hope your hands burn when you make it."

"My hands won't burn. It's only about 40 degrees in the wax." He paused. "That's around… your internal temperature when you have a bad fever, in case you were wondering. I know Shizu-chan isn't good with numbers."

"I know how hot 40 degrees is," Shizuo snapped.

"Did you also know that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius?" the informant mockingly asked.

"That's common knowledge, flea."

"Besides," the dark haired continued conversationally. "You could always build up an immunity to something. If you experience enough pain, mentally and physically, you'll eventually stop feeling it."

"Really?" Shizuo meant it as a challenge, not a question. The flea, however, seemed to take it as one.

"Yes, really. Say you keep experiencing… a hea – stomachache. It persists. You can't do anything to stop it because it's inside you and your body is just reacting on its own. You keep feeling it and soon, you learn to ignore it. You learn to work your schedule around it, maybe indulge it a bit when you go to the city. But you can't let yourself get too busy with it. That would hurt too much. You can never have that."

What the actual fuck was going on? Izaya was definitely talking about something else, not just stomachache immunities or burns. What sort of thing persists and hurts when left too long… no, more importantly, _why _would the _flea_ leave it for so long?

"What the fuck are you saying, flea?" the blond narrowed his eyes, as if the point would be made clearer. "What 'indulge' and 'city'? Why do you need to go to the city to take a shit?"

The resident of Shinjuku stiffened. Very slight but obvious to Shizuo's trained eyes. "I never said 'city'. I said 'busy'. I said 'when you go to _do the busy_'. You let yourself sit in the bathroom for a while if your stomachache was that bad. …that's what I meant anyways."

He wanted to throw the other across the park. But he resisted. If he started the whole throwing-flea-across-wherever thing again, they'd end up in another chase and the flea would probably just manipulate his memories somehow.

And Shizuo can't have that.

"No, no. You obviously said _city_," he stabbed a finger into the other's shoulder. "Why are you saying that? You don't waste words. Everything you say has some kind of double meaning that fucks up innocent lives."

"Not _every _word I say fucks up lives," Izaya frowned.

"Why. Did. You. Say. 'City'. Fucking. Flea." The former bartender was hell bent on finding out. What city? It obviously had to be Ikebukuro. The flea had some kind of plan with Ikebukuro and since Shizuo lived in it, he was, by default, to make sure the city wasn't fucked.

The informant sighed irritably and waved a hand. "Freudian slip."

"Feud what?"

"_Freudian_ slip. Means that instead of the word you intended to say, you mistakenly say what your subconscious mind has been thinking. I only said 'city' because I saw the cityscape on that booth." Izaya pointed to a nearby photo booth, designed to look like a city on the outside.

Shizuo blinked at the booth. He had always thought those sort of booths were always decorated with pink and glitter shit.

But back to the matter at hand. "_You _don't get affected by that feuding shit. Or have bad stomachaches, for that matter."

Because Izaya was _that_ type of piece of shit.

The dark haired merely raised a brow and smiled serenely. "Don't I?"

_The fuck was _that_ supposed to mean?_

And just when Shizuo was contemplating throwing the flea into a booth, said flea said. "That wasn't even the whole point of this conversation. We were talking about me getting wax hands and temperature."

"I hope your hands burn. Hope they burn in hell with the rest of your body and your already charred soul."

"You know, even if 40 degrees was supposed to give a mild burn, it would have been counteracted by the freezing water here. I wouldn't feel a thing."

The former bartender frowned. "Then I hope your hands fall off from hypothermia."

"Ooo. Big words from a protozoan. Are you planning to med school now?"

"Hypothermia isn't even a big medical word. Everyone knows what that is."

"Really. Shizu-chan could've fooled me though."

"Shut the fuck up and go scald yourself." He hadn't forgotten the conversation though.

* * *

><p>"So you just dip your hands in that container then the other container then that container and the other container and – "<p>

"Yes, okay. I dip my hands in container one, which contains cold water, then in container two, which contains melted wax. I do this over and over until _she _– " here, he gestured to the stall owner "- tells me otherwise. What is so hard about that?"

Shizuo shrugged. "I just don't get how wax comes out from that process. You're basically doing the Thriller dance from one container to another."

It's not _his_ fault this whole thing was stupidly simple. He expected the flea to pick another activity that was… more complicated, to say the least. …or maybe it _was_ complicated. Maybe this was all the flea's plan to overly simplify things so that 'big brute protozoan' Shizuo got confused and thus pissed off. Maybe it was –

Izaya glared. "I don't _do_ Thriller dances."

The informant adjusted his hands into the correct position and then plunged them into a container. He almost gasped at the paralyzing iciness hitting his hands. The coldness seeped into his skin, etching itself deep within before it slowly crept up to his wrists.

"Or maybe it's more like getting a Spanish manicure. Everyone knows you're into that sort of girly shit."

The dark haired paused, hands hovering midair. "It's a French manicure. Bull fighting and piñatas are from Spain."

Shziuo scoffed. "Same thing."

Izaya dipped pale hands into the other container – the one that smelled a bit nauseating. He took his hands out and once again, submerged them into the first container. He took them out again.

Shizuo merely blinked at the now cooling wax dripping off. The stall owner smoothed the wax before leading the informant's hands back into the hot wax.

There was a pause before the resident of Shinjuku spoke conversationally.

"I've been thinking, you know how you get really pissed off when you see me?"

"Like right now? Yeah," the taller groused.

"Now that I think of it, Shizu-chan's kind of like a bull. A bull sees a red flag and it immediately charges at it. You see me and you immediately charged at me," Izaya mused.

The blond snorted (though he probably shouldn't have, considering what he was going to say next). "I'm not a bull."

"No. You're a protozoan," the smaller readily agreed. He continued. "Besides, bulls can't even see colors. You wave blue flag in front of its face and you're still going to get impaled."

He blinked. "No, I'm won't."

Izaya scowled. "Of course_ you_ wouldn't. You'd just break off the horns or throw the bull to its death like the monster you are."

Russet eyes blankly stared at the hands covered in wax. "But really, you have to wonder now. Do _you_ just attack me because I'm moving? Which, by the way, isn't fair because I can't just freeze on the spot just for you. I have a life."

"I don't attack you just because you're moving," the former bartender countered. If he did that, he'd be attacking everything that moved. And that would include everyone else in his vision. And that would lead to violence. And that would be bad.

Because Shizuo Heiwajima hated violence.

"Then that leads to another question. Why do you immediately attack me? You don't randomly go around attacking other people." The man kept his voice low, eyes never leaving the moving of his hands.

"Because _you _piss me off. You immediately piss me off just by being alive, you know that? Other people aren't like that. Other people don't piss me off. I can't fucking stand you."

Did he really need to clarify this? This – whatever _this _was called: information, fact – was common knowledge between them. Hell, it was common knowledge between everyone that lived in Ikebukuro, Shinjuku and whatever districts that had heard of them.

The dark haired took a deep breath, cutting a glance to the other man. "You're with me now. And you haven't tried to kill me." He paused. "Well, not to the full extent."

Full extent? Come to think of it, had he ever held back when it came to the flea? He knew he did when it came to other people – or at least tried. Deep down, he never really believed in holding back. If you were going to do something, do it to your fullest potential.

Though violence wasn't exactly the type of thing you wanted to do to your fullest potential.

Shizuo sighed and looked away. Shit, he really needed a smoke. When was the last time he had one? In the morning? Damn, he really had been distracted, hadn't he?

"It's because we have a deal. Otherwise, your whole head would've been dunked into the wax container by now."

At this, the stall owner paused and looked at him. The debt collector merely blinked back.

Izaya merely laughed. "Shizu-chan, I don't think my head would fit in that small container."

He didn't look at the monster of Ikebukuro.

"Didn't say your big, egotistical head had to fit."

"Um, excuse me. Would you like to add color to this or…."

The resident of Shinjuku shook his head. "I think I'll keep it white."

"Are you sure? You don't have to pay extra for color."

Izaya smiled at her like they shared a secret. It pissed the debt collector off. "Well, no one knows what the exact color of love is, yes?"

Shizuo lit up a cigarette and watched the woman expertly worked to get the wax hands off in one piece. The hand-heart didn't look bad. The flea had slim fingers and each knuckle stood out, making the wax less of a blob.

"Oh, and I would like this to be filled with wax. Makes it sturdier, though by how much is hard to guess."

The blond would bet his entire bank savings that the other knew exactly how much sturdier the wax hand would be.

"You just have to be careful with wax. If it's let out too long in the sun, it'll melt. It breaks pretty easily too. The safest place to put this thing might be in the freezer, away from other things," the owner joked as she poured wax into the mould.

"But wax is supposed to burn and melt, not be cold in the freezer with the chicken,"  
>he murmured. Then, "Ne, Shizu-chan?"<p>

"What?" the monster of Ikebukuro snapped.

"Don't you agree that _that_ – " here, he gestured to the wax hand-heart in the stall owner's hands "- should burn and melt, not sit in the freezer?"

Shizuo furrowed his brows. "A heart?"

Why would a heart burn or melt? A heart can't melt because it's a muscle and… could a muscle even melt? Or was the flea talking about the symbolism of hearts? Love burning and melting? The fuck?

The flea's eyes stared at him, almost imploringly. Then, they blinked and Izaya turned away.

"No, no. Not the heart. The wax. Shouldn't it melt?"

"Tch. I don't know. Wax is wax. A heart is a heart. What do they have to do with burning and melting?"

"Wax candles in a shape of a heart, maybe?"

"I don't give a damn, okay? If you want to use it, burn it. It'll melt. If you don't want it, then throw it out. You don't have a damn use for it," Shizuo growled. It was as simple as that. What sort of trick question was the flea asking?

"Is it really that easy to throw out a heart?" Izaya murmured to himself.

"Are you done? Just pay already, flea," the blond kicked the smaller in the foot. He was careful to make sure it was light or else, the flea's foot might break and _he'll_ have to carry the other home. And there was no way that was happening.

"Alright, alright."

* * *

><p><em>Hi. <em>

_Sorry it took so long. It was exam month so I was super busy and then that turned into summer so I turned into a lazy blob. Just not feeling that motivated, you know?_

_I have never done wax hands before so I don't really know the feeling. I've seen some of my friends do it and read instructions online but I don't have a wax hand experience. Yet. _

_Hope this chapter turned out well. It just felt kind of off... __For the next chapter, I'm not exactly sure what to do so if any of you feel inclined to give out some ideas, leave them in the review/PM. _

_Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! _


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